Visit to Jagannath temple on New Year's Day

 Yesterday the world famous Jagannath temple in Puri, Odisha was kept opened almost all night on New Year's Day as hundreds of thousands thronged the temple to visit the ARADHYA DEVATA (The most propitiated GOD) of all Odias across the world.

It has become fashionable these days to visit temples on First Day of January - which ironically follows the Gregorian Calendar rather than the Hindu Lunar Calendar. Little more than a decade ago, on one fine New Year day morning in India, I was trying to cross the Puri bound road close to our home in Bhubaneswar. I was surprised to see abnormally high traffic on a normal day, a rush almost similar to what you would see on a day of some major festival, like the famous RATH YATRA (Car festival) in Puri.

While trying to cross the road, I had to tip toe my way, swaying my hips, waving, clenching my hands like an eunuch at the approaching traffic of vehicles big and small, zeroing on me, blaring their cacophonic horn in unison at the irritating pedestrian in me obstructing their path. 

As there were no Zebra crossing, it took 5 minutes of exhibiting my ass swinging skills to cross a 25 feet wide road. Road crossing is an art in Odisha and one needs to be a trapeze artist to cross roads at the crossroads of Bhubaneswar. That day I went above and beyond my normal hip swaying which would have made any danseuse proud.

After managing to reach home in single piece, I asked my father the reason behind such an unusual rush on an usual day. He said, it has become fashionable now-a-days to do a "JAGANNATH DARSHAN" (take a peek at Lord) on New Year's Day at His abode in Puri. Like a dip in river Ganga, they trust CHAKADOLA (Circular eyelid, another name of Sri Jagannath) with his ever pervading look will purify them off their dirt accumulated over time like Aqua guard does to crude water. 

It explains why you would see many bloody, bleary eyed folks, still nursing hangover from last night's New year's eve Bacchanalian jamborees and after dumping their last year's shit, stumbling their way up the BAISI PAHANCHA (the legendary steps) leading to Lord's abode. Many of them I know are prolific slimy,  corrupt characters, congenial liars and champion womanizers and cheats of the highest order, who are known to religiously make this trip on New year's day to His temple and build temples too. I am now reminded of the Odia proverb - "ATI BHAKTI CHORA RA KAKHYANA", too much of devotion id sign of a scoundrel".

Constipated with sins, they hope that the next 364 days (365 days for 2024 as it is a Leap Year) will go as smooth as whistle, as the morning bowel movement post a dinner of RUTI (Chappati) and DALMA (boiled mixed of fiber rich lentils and vegetables), a staple Odia food. They think their accumulated sins will get reset to zero after entering Sri Jagannath temple on New Year's Day. Define hypocrisy. But they forget one thing - CHAKA AKHI SABU DEKHUCHI (Lord Jagannath is watching everything).

We have this popular Odia Adage - "BAARA BARSA RA TAPASYA SUKHUA PODA RE JIBA", transliterated, "Twelve years of penance will be swept away by consuming broiled dry fish". It means, all the great efforts and perseverance for a long period can go wrong by a single stroke of stupid act.

Reverse this theorem - A trip to the abode of Lord Jagannath on the first day of the year guarantees buying peace and tranquility for the rest of the year, erasing off the sins in one stroke, a la the wiper of a car swishes away all the dust accumulated in summer after fresh monsoon rains. May KAALIA (as Lord Jagannath is known for his Amber complexion) bless them for the next 364 days, until their must visit yet again on 1st January, 2025.