Thousands of people witnessed and took part in a free food and meditation festival with a procession in Reading last Saturday.
The Rathayatra Festival is organised by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), also known as the Hare Krishnas, every year.
Thousands of passers-by would have spotted the Rathayatra procession, which involves representations of three deities being carried through the streets to much fanfare.
The deities contained in the Rathayatra chariot are Lord Jagannath, an incarnation of the Hindu deity Krishna, Balaram, Krishna’s older brother and Subhadra, their sister.
The day culminates in a festival in Forbury Gardens with free food, meditation, traditional dances and more.
The festival was attended by councillor Paul Gittings (Labour, Coley), the Mayor of Reading, and took place on Saturday, July 25.
Pratamapaya Nitai Dasa, one of the organisers, said: “So Saturday was a massive success, it was the best festival we’ve had so far, all credit to the volunteers who worked tirelessly to pull it off, all attendees had a wonderful time, we fed people with over 4,500 free hot vegetarian meals and gave out 2,500 free fruits, with 7,000 people coming on the day.
“Broad Street and the town centre were ecstatic, it was full with singing, dancing, smiling faces and positivity.
“We got good feedback on how we laid out Forbury Gardens, and how it all flowed for the festivalgoers.
“There were many different attractions, a lot of positive feedback, so we’re looking forward to an even bigger one next year!”
The Hare Krishnas will be bringing the festival to Newbury and Basingstoke in August, with both featuring processions, running from 12pm to 5pm each time.
The Newbury event will take place at Victoria Park on Saturday, August 8, and the Basingstoke event will happen on Saturday, August 29 at the War Memorial Park.
ISKCON Reading also meets at the Biscuit Factory on Tuesday evenings from 7pm to 9.30pm.
