At a time when chariot construction in Puri is going on in full swing and lakhs of people are getting ready to throng the 'Bada Danda' to pull the chariots, a family of Gurujang Bhoi Sahi in Khordha district is burning the midnight oil to prepare artificial flowers made of natural thermocol.
To serve Lord Jagannath in any way is considered fulfilment of a lifetime's desire. And there are many families living in and around Puri that are associated with the Srimandir. Besides servitors, there are many such families that are dedicating themselves to the service of Lord Jagannath.
One such family is Rajkishore Nayak’s. The family has been decorating the three chariots during Rath Yatra with artificial flowers every year.
The family members of Rajkishore and his brother Birakishore collect natural thermocol from water bodies in Gop, Kakatpur, Nimapara and Astarang and start preparing various types of flowers from Akshaya Tritiya and complete on Netra Utsav. During this period, the family members follow all the rules of the temple and stick to a special satwik diet.
“Not all get the opportunity to serve Lord Jagannath. We feel blessed to have this service for the Holy Trinity. We start preparing the flowers on Akshaya Tritiya and it continues till Netra Utsav. We all the family members work together and feel happy for this,” said a woman member.
Going to describe about the process of flower making, Birakishore said, “We start collecting natural thermocol from the month of Kartik and then we spread them out in the sun to dry up. The day when the chariot construction begins, we start preparing the flowers. Generally, we prepare ‘Sebati’ and 'Kadamba’ flowers,”
Rajkishore said, “We feel blessed to have the opportunity to serve Lord Jagannath. Eight to ten members of our family will go to Puri carrying all the flowers. After getting permission from the temple administration, we will decorate the three chariots with our flowers. It gives us immense satisfaction.”