Berhampur: Women of Gosaninuagaon here in Ganjam district had their hands full as they pulled the chariot of goddess Subhadra in an 18-year-old tradition.
In a bid to support gender equality and commence the Rath Yatra in a peaceful manner, the temple committee allows the women and young girls to pull the chariot of the goddess. No men were allowed to come near the chariot.
The chariots of the gods – Jagannath and Balabhadra — on the other hand were pulled by men alone.
The tradition was a huge attraction as hundreds of young girls and women gathered and pulled the chariot of the goddess Subhadra. Young girls from various educational institutes turned up in large numbers to pull the chariot. The women pulled the chariot from the temple site to the Gundicha Temple, about one-and-a-half kilometres away, along with the other two chariots of Lord Jagannath and Balabhadra.
When contacted, the temple committee stated that the practice was started as there are fewer chances of women being victims of unscrupulous men as they congregate at one site during the festival. This further helps the Rath Yatra end peacefully without any incidents of molestation and indecent behavior with the women.
Berhampur is the second place in the state after Baripada to have the gender-specific Rath. The pulling of Subhadra’s chariot exclusively by women was initially started at Baripada in 1975.
Now, the practice is being followed in Gosaninuagaon from 2000 which the women enjoy thoroughly.
The enthusiasm of women in participating in the Rath Yatra is evident from the fact that their numbers have been increasing year after year since the introduction of the custom, the head trustee of Gosaninuagaon Jagannath Temple said.
PNN