Hare Krishna! Jaya Jagannatha! All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
We are excited to announce that we had a fabulous Ratha Yatra in Singapore this year!
We'll soon put up the slideshow of all the photos of the Ratha Yatra on this post. Meanwhile, you can view the PHOTOS HERE.
The Ratha Yatra was held from 5pm to 9pm on the 18th of July, 2010, a Sunday, at the Yio Chu Kang stadium, a relatively central venue for all Singaporeans. The Guest of Honor was Dr. K. N. Raghavan, the First Secretary of Commerce at the High Commission of India, Singapore. About 5,000 people attended the festival. This year, we saw a significant rise in the attendance, book sales and Prasadam distribution.
It was a rainy day. But as soon as Their Lordships entered the stadium, the rain ceased and all the devotees and people in general reveled in the ecstatic kirtan accompanying the chariot procession. Unlike in other countries, we cannot take the chariots on the road. So we hosted the festival within the stadium premises as we have been doing since 2006. Our dream is to host the festival on the busiest street in Singapore – Orchard Road!
The Guest of Honor publicly expressed his gratitude for letting him participate in such a wonderful event. In fact, this was the first time he attended the Ratha Yatra festival in his life.
The three magnificent chariots paraded on the stadium track for 6 rounds, being accompanied by ecstatic kirtan. People from various races attended the festival. Many newcomers were dumbstruck at the grandeur of the chariot procession! One thing for sure – they all loved the Prasadam!
Since Srila Prabhupada was disallowed to place his merciful lotus feet on the land of Singapore in 1971, the Hare Krishna movement in Singapore has come a long way by his causeless mercy and under the guidance of His Grace Sundar Gopal Prabhu, a dedicated disciple of Srila Prabhupada and the President of Sri Krishna Mandir, the Singapore Hare Krishna temple.
Singapore is termed as “The Little Red Dot” – meaning small but conspicuous. Three massive chariots in a small country like Singapore translates to Srila Prabhupada’s causeless mercy! Jaya Srila Prabhupada!
---- By Tattva Vit Das, Singapore
