Following in the footsteps of Srila Prabhupada’s father Gour Mohan De, thedevotee community organised a wonderful Rathayatra festival in a localpark. The children led the kirtans, and put on a brilliant drama “Mrgarithe Hunter”, followed by a feast.
“These children are given to us by Krishna, they are Vaisnavas and we mustbe very careful to protect them. These are not ordinary children, they areVaikuntha children, and we are very fortunate we can give them chance toadvance further in Krishna Consciousness. That is very greatresponsibility, do not neglect it or be confused. Your duty is very clear.”
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, July 30, 1972)
Abhay wanted to have his own cart and to perform his own Ratha-yatra, andnaturally he turned to his father for help. Gour Mohan agreed, but therewere difficulties. When he took his son to several carpenter shops, hefound that he could not afford to have a cart made. On their way home,Abhay began crying, and an old Bengali woman approached and asked him what the matter was. Gour Mohanexplained that the boy wanted a Ratha-yatra cart but they couldn’t affordto have one made. “Oh, I have a cart,” the woman said, and she invited GourMohan and Abhay to her place and showed them the cart.
It looked old, but it was still operable, and it was just the right size,about three feet high. Gour Mohan purchased it and helped to restore anddecorate it. Father and son together constructed sixteen supporting columnsand placed a canopy on top, resembling as closely as possible the ones onthe big carts at Puri. They also attached the traditional wooden horses anddriver to the front of the cart. Abhay insisted that it must lookauthentic. Gour Mohan bought paints, and Abhay personally painted the cart,copying the Puri originals. His enthusiasm was great, and he became aninsistent organizer of various aspects of the festival. But when he triedmaking fireworks for the occasion from a book that gave illustrateddescriptions of the process, his mother, Rajani, intervened.
Abhay engaged his playmates in helping him, especially his sisterBhavatarini, and he became their natural leader. Responding to hisentreaties, amused mothers in the neighborhood agreed to cook specialpreparations so that he could distribute the *prasadam* at his Ratha-yatrafestival.
Like the festival at Puri, Abhay’s Ratha-yatra ran for eight consecutivedays. His family members gathered, and the neighborhood children joined ina procession, pulling the cart, playing drums and hand cymbals, andchanting. Wearing a *dhoti *and no shirt in the heat of summer, Abhay ledthe children in chanting Hare Krsna.
Source: https://dandavats.tumblr.com/post/687129241567051776/childrens-rathayatra-festival-in-watford-uk-by
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