Rath Yatra held in Bulgaria

Held on Saturday, the procession has become an annual feature in the former communist capital since it was introduced 12 years ago.

A Rath Yatra (chariot festival) organised by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) along a main boulevard in the Bulgarian capital Sofia drew huge crowds.

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The colourful procession Saturday has become an annual feature in the former communist capital since it was introduced 12 years ago, the Sofia News Agency reported.

The event is modelled after the Rath Yatra organised every year in Puri in Orissa by the famed Jagannath temple there. It sees temple deities Jagannath, Subhadra and Balaram taken out in a procession on a decorated chariot.

The procession is accompanied by a lot of singing, chanting of prayers, dancing and beating of drums. Worshippers pull the chariot with ropes.

Earlier this month, a similar Rath Yatra was organised by ISKCON in New York City, which too drew hundreds of people.