The Ratha Yatra parade is an exotic traditional experience in sights, sounds and energy: a vibrant burst of colourful traditional cultural clothing, graceful dancers, and mystical sounds of kartala (cymbals) and balaram mrdanga (drums) accompanying hundreds of voices chanting traditional ancient mantras for supreme inner peace.
On Saturday July 6th 2024 at noon, the 43nd Festival of India will begin with a Chariot parade (Ratha-yatra) that will majestically cruise down the St-Laurent from corner Milton to Jeanne-Mance park. During the parade, a 40-feet float will be pulled by the participants in the middle of singing and dancing in a carnival atmosphere.
Participants and spectators are encouraged to join us to sing, dance and pull the cart!
For 42 years, this annual parade brings the splendor and colors of traditional India to Montreal as no other summer event!
Originally, Ratha-Yatra is a traditional Hindu festival that attracts over a million people annually to the city of Puri:
The procession involves carrying the deity of Vishnu (Krishna), carved in wood, called Jagannath, and 2 other deities (Baladev and Subhadra) – one on each chariot:
Although the whole festival traditionally has at least 8 parts (beginning with Snana-yatra, etc), and lasts a few weeks, most people attend the part called Ratha-Yatra where they get to pull the chariots that carry the deities down the main street in Puri.
Since 1968, this parade has been introduced in the West by the founder of ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) – A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Held in Montreal since 1978, the parade is now part of the ‘Festival of India’ – organized by a partnership and is aiming to bring together the various South Asian communities, as well as artists and cultural organizations, bringing a real and authentic touch of the multi-ethnic, multi-cultural India to the city!