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Ratha Yatra (District Hooghly)
 The Ratha Yatra festival falls on the late of June or early July. It is celebrated in the
honour of Lord Jagannath an avatar of Vishnu. Processions are organised in
Kolkata by the Iskon and in Serampore, north of Kolkata.
People scramble around to get a chance to pull the holy rope of the huge chariot. Replicas of
Jagannath's chariot are sold at Kalighat. Children decorate their chriots with flowers and place in them clay images of
Jagannath, his brother Balaram and sister Subhadra.
An image of Vishnu in the form of Jagannath (Lord of Universe) is placed in a wooden chariot built in the shape of a temple on wheels, which is drawn by men of all castes to an appointed place.
The day is considered very auspicious, marking as it does the start of the sowing season or the monsoon crop, throughout eastern India. The festival is observed in towns and villages.
The week is synonymous with numerous fairs (Rather mela) held all over
Kolkata parks, known for their distinctive food and carousels. Myth has it that it always rains on the day of
Ratha Yatra in Kolkata.
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