Raj, Subhashree and Yuvaan to spend Rath Yatra in the US

After the success of his film Habji Gabji, Raj Chakraborty took a break and went for a holiday with his wife Subhashree Ganguly and their son, Yuvaan. The filmmaker has decided to spend the Rath in the US. This will be his first Rath Yatra outside India. 

By his admission, Raj is a devotee of Jagannath. In an interview with Anandabazar, he said, “I come from a middle-class Bengali family. Like all the other kids, I used to decorate Rath and pull it.” 

Raj grew up in Kachrapara – Recalling his childhood memories, he said, “In my neighbourhood in Kachrapara, there was a place called Rathtala. I remember there used to be a huge fair during Rath Purnima. I used to visit that fair regularly. We used to gorge on papad and jalebi. We used to buy flutes and blowing horns.”

The filmmaker also remembered that it was his father who used to decorate their Rath. “When I was a child, my dad used to decorate my Rath. When I grew up a little, I used to decorate it with my sisters. We used to compete among friends on decorations,” said Rah. 

He has also said that after growing up he used to go to Puri to soak in the spirit of the Rath Yatra carnival. “As I grew up, my Rath celebration stepped beyond Kolkata. I went to Puri. Ever since I used to visit Puri during Rath every year. Every year, there is a sea of people. I would still fight to touch Rather Rashi -- the rope to pull the cart. That became our yearly prayer to Lord Jagannath. I have idols of Lord Jagannath, Balaram, and Subhadra.”

However, this year, he will have to give Puri a miss because he did not want Yuvaan to be exposed to the maddening crowd there.”This year is an exception. This year, we are in the US. Yuvan is young and we did not want him to get exposed to the immense crowd at Puri. We will celebrate as usual -- decorate Rath and Yuvan will pull the cart. It is summertime in the US and hence Yuvaan will be wearing a dhoti and kurta. We will be travelling to Jamaica after the US,” Raj said.   

He further added that after they get back to India, he will be visiting Puri with Yuvan during the off-season.