The Ratha-Yatra procession 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 Vedic mantras for a very transformational experience.
On Saturday July 5th 2025, the 45th Festival of India will begin with a Chariot procession (Ratha-Yatra) that will majestically cruise down the streets of Montreal. Details for the procession (time, place and route) will be announced soon. During the procession, a 40-feet float will be pulled by the participants in the middle of singing and dancing in a festive atmosphere.
Participants and spectators are encouraged to join us to sing, dance and pull the cart!
For 45 years, our annual parade brings the splendour and colours of traditional Vedic India to Montreal as no other summer event!
Originally, Ratha-Yatra is a traditional festival from Vedic origin that attracts over a million people annually to the city of Puri, India.
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 ‘Ratha-Yatra: A Festival of Vedic India’ – organized by a partnership and is aiming to bring together all communities, including the various South Asian communities, as well as artists and cultural organizations, bringing a real and authentic touch of the multi-ethnic, multi-cultural aspects of traditional Vedic India to the city for everyone to participate in and appreciate!
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