Juan Francisco Cuyás, PhD researcher and responsible of research task 2.2 (Religious image in Hinduism) has begun his fieldwork!
On the occasion of the Ratha Yatra celebrations in the streets of Barcelona, on July 23rd, the Visual Trust team worked together to film this event. As part of the investigation, we focus on the relationship between the divinity, devotees, and bystanders who attended the festival. Thanks to the collaboration of ISKCON Barcelona, we had the opportunity to closely observe and film the preparation of the gods, their transportation and public manifestation, and their arrival back at the temple. Along the way, we conducted interviews and compiled audiovisual material that we would later edit into a short/medium-length film.
The Ratha Yatra is a Hindu devotional procession that takes place in the public space and consists of the pull of a wooden chariot transporting Jagannath, one of the various Vishnu’s avatars, and his two siblings Balabhadra, and Subhadra. Ratha Yatra ritual originates from the Jagannath temple in Odisha province (actual India); however, since the 1970s, the Hare Krishna community has contributed to its internationalization. Today it is celebrated in cities on all continents and is a benchmark for the presence of Hinduism internationally.