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News: India's chariot festival draws millions
In clari.world.asia.india, C-upi@clari.net (UPI) wrote:
>
> NEW DELHI, July 17 (UPI) -- An estimated 1.5 million Hindu pilgrims
>converged Wednesday on India's eastern city of Puri to take part in an
>annual chariot festival dedicated to Jagannath, the Lord of the
>Universe.
> To the sounds of clashing cymbals and bellowing conch shells,
>hundreds of thousands of devotees took turns pulling three chariots
>carrying representations of Lords Jagannath, Balabhadra and Devi
>Subadhra, the Press Trust of India reported.
> Many pilgrims, anxious to achieve spiritual immortality, threw
>themselves under the giant wheels of the sacred chariots, but no
>injuries were reported, the news agency said.
> Although the Rath Yatra is held annually, this year's festival is
>considered particulary auspicious because it falls in a 12-year cycle in
>which the chariot idols are replaced.
> Officials have made elaborate arrangements to control the crowd at
>Puri, believed to be one of the largest gatherings of people at a single
>event anywhere in the world.
>
