‘Beshadharis’ add to religious gusto in Puri

Puri: Excitement filled the air in the pilgrim city today with the performance of the ‘beshadharis’ or persons attired like mythological characters in the ‘Bada danda’ (Grand road) on the occasion of Rath Yatra.

Krushna Chandra Meher, a security guard by profession at Sambalpur University, donned himself like Hanuman and danced before the chariots.

Shyam Sundar Pandey, another ‘beshadhari’, dressed himself as ‘Gadi Gosain’ and praised the deities in front of chariots. Pandey said he has been donning this attire for past 40 years for Lord Jagannath and his siblings.

Even devotees from abroad were no exception and were seen dancing in the Bada Danda while signing devotional songs.