Puri King and Queen to offer special service

Puri, Apr 5: Amid controversy, elaborate preparations are on to greet the King of erstwhile Puri state and his queen, who would offer her first and last prayer to Lord Jagannath at the temple on April 8.

Members of the temple managing body and the Chhatisha Nijog (temple servitor body) held meetings to decide how to conduct the ''Gahan Bije'' of the royal family on Sunday.

As per convention the queen of the Puri visits the temple along with the king once in her life time. The last such ritual was held in 1966 when the queen of Birakishore Dev went on ''Gahan Bije'' and rendered holy service.

During the, ceremony Puri King Dibyasingh Dev, considered as the foremost servitor of Lord Jagannath, would accompany his queen Lilabati for the first time to the temple to render a special service.

The temple authorities have identified Loknath Mudirasth, a 12-year-old-boy from the Mudirastha family as per the tradition to perform religious services in the sanctum sanctorum and on the ratnasimhasan on behalf of the queen.

Steps are being taken to observe all the formalities, that were observed in the last such visit of the then queen to the temple 41 years ago, Jagannath temple sources said.

An old palanquin from a local mutt has been arranged to ferry the queen from raj palace into the temple.

Carpenters and artisans are working overtime to give the palanquin a new and royal look. About a dozen people would carry the queen on palanquin.

The temple administration is expecting a large entourage with royal family for the unique religious ceremony.

As per the list, apart from the family members of the Puri King, the invitees include royal pairs of Nilagiri, Khandapara, Kalahandi, Jaipur, Bamanda, Bolangir, Kishengarh, Khadial and Dhenkanal.

Meanwhile, Orissa unit of Ambedkar Lohia Vichar Manch (ALVM) has raised objection to the way the temple administration was making the arrangements at the public expenses.

ALVM general secretary Rabindra Behera condemned the ''medieval feudal customs'' practiced by the temple administration to satisfy the royals.

In a memorandum submitted to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Mr Behera said carrying palanquin by humans was an unceremonious tradition which violated the law of land and PCR Act,1976.

The use of human beings in the name of servitors to carry the palanquin of the queen was highly deplorable as it contravenes UNO's universal declaration of human rights in 1948 to which India was a signatory, Mr Behera said.

The annihilation of human dignity during this ritual was bad in law, he said adding that the queen being an individual in this sovereign country, the spending of lakhs from the state exchequer for her visit was unwarranted.

The ALVM had also sent a copy of the memorandum to the Puri collector and the temple administration urging them to discontinue this age old tradition. It had also sent a registered letter to queen Lilabati on this issue.

UNI