It seems the Jagannath Temple administration came under commercial pressure to put the deities to sleep late and wake up much before sunrise when the chilliest winter in decades was taking toll across Odisha. As per the Hindu tradition, a new day begins with sunrise and never even one second earlier. The Hindu temples all over the world follow this timing as that’s absolutely sacrosanct. Horoscopes and moments for auspicious occasions are determined by the days based on sunrise. The highly-respected Hindu almanac is made only by the solar and lunar movements. Violation of the practice is considered sacrilege and dangerous for the Hindu community.

It is a fact that only after Prabhupada, the founder or ISKCON popularised the Jagannath cult all over the world by projecting the incarnation as the most important among the ten. Prabhupada is the true and most effective Hindu missionary who reversed the process of conversion of Hindus to Christianity by popularising Lord Jagannath by portraying Him as a glamorous, fun-loving incarnation of Lord Vishnu. He did everything that could make the annual Car Festival a great Hindu event. Hence, the huge number of ISKCON members who are now leading a much more stringent and disciplined Hindu life. Even ISKCON’s trotting ones are seen humming 'Hare Krishna', clad in saffron and wearing Tulsi beads around the neck. The point being drawn here is to prove that the servitors at the Jagannath Temple are any day less pious and tolerant than ISKCON followers who even have rechristened themselves with typical Hindu names.

Lord Jagannath is extremely strict about time zones and timeliness. The sacred month of Pausha falls around December-January when Goddess Lakshmi goes on a vacation to her parental home on the sea. So, the mother takes command of the kitchen and ensures she feeds children better and earlier. She, to make her service supremely special, organises a most savoury breakfast item made of rice and lentils greased with cow ghee and served hot with only one yoghurt-raddish salad. This is called ‘Pahili Bhog' meaning the first meal of the day. This item is so tasty too that people from all over rush to Puri to have at least one serving of the sacred offering during the month when the Lady of the house is away on leave. The months of the Lord occur on the solar day when the earth completes the monthly journey in orbit around the Sun. The day is called ‘Sankranti’. When every event and ritual is performed religiously without one exception, how can the Lord or the universe be forced to wake up at the middle of the night and pose before the crazy, headless devotees for a glimpse like in a puppet show! The pundits and the spiritual guides are so ignorant about the non-negotiable time zones of the Lord that not one of them including the Shankaracharya and the members of the Muktimandap, the highest body of knowledgeable Brahmins who make clear what is right and what wrong when it comes to any ritual-linked confusion! Unfortunately, the Shankaracharya keeps off only because he does not know much of rituals and rites that are observed or performed. He only wants when not given importance at festivals and grand events. The Gajapati king too is a timid head of the whole system. He is happy with his take-home benefits and refrains from taking any stand to avoid controversy which might lead to deprivation of personal benefits. He has even said openly that he has no role in the temple administration at all despite being the head of the apex policymaking body. He could raise a voice of dissent against wrong moves and steps, but he doesn’t only to have a cool and nice time without trouble. So, having tortured the deities at a chilly midnight, whom most devotees look up as gods and goddesses, has not been taken well by many religious people, and logically so.

Interestingly, it is commonly read and heard that January 1 is the English New Year. That’s also grossly wrong. The English have nothing to do with the system or arrangement. It has not been decided by any monarch. The calendar is called Gregorian, both as the civil and Christian ecclesiastical calendar. Instituted by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582, the calendar has 365 days with an extra day every four years (the Leap Year) except in years divisible by 100 but not divisible by 400. So, it has its birth or beginning in Rome and not in England. The Jagannath Temple far precedes Gregory, the Pope of 1582. The magnificent temple was built in the early 12th century, a whopping four centuries earlier. Yet today, the ‘not so wise' administrators, managers and priests have not looked up the rites book once and have decided a torture session for the deities once a year ever since big crowds have gone crazy. The Lord celebrates His New Year on April 14 when unfailingly the Sun is positioned at a particular point beaming the exactly-required amount of heat and light. Nearly the whole of north India celebrates new year around that day.

It is divinely desirable that the deities be left alone in bed on the December 31 nights from hence as that is absolutely the resting period for creatures except the nocturnal birds and animals. Fortunately, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, a great Jagannath devotee, hasn’t committed the sin of torturing the deities at midnight. He visited the temple quite when the sun was high in the sky and the deities were pretty much ready to give a glance of the Selves with pleasure and smiles. Some of the very elderly citizens who have seen life for long were heard saying, “This politician is sane. He hasn’t committed the grave blunder of disturbing the Lord in the middle of the chilly night. He seems to know the Lord leads a human life and teaches what is good for humanity.

The political scenario is changing every second day. It was rumoured that Bijay Mohapatra and Dilip Ray would be taken back to the BJD fold. But they are still roaming in the wilderness. Dama Rout, the animal doctor, too has lost direction. The defunct party he had joined has crumbled further meanwhile as the founder is not a credible character with any impressive track record. As the survey goes, Rout is nearly erased from the political centre-stage. He keeps screaming that he is the real warrior to demolish the BJD once for all like the late Pyaribabu who only bragged about the failsafe missiles but failed to launch even one to unseat Naveen. Dama says he is the elderly prince of Paradip. BJD leaders say he is a Mr Nobody there for he has no party base and cannot garner popular trust and support even if he floats a party now by naming it BJD (D).

All the same, Aparajita Sarangi is making inroads rather fast. She has the age advantage, and she talks confidently. She speaks in Odia fairly well and says she knows the State inside out. So, it would not be wrong to say the contestant against her has to work harder on the overdrive and may have to take that extra mile without fail. The only saving factor for the BJD is that Aparajita may not have any fan following outside the urban limits of Bhubaneswar.

For all this, the 2019 elections are bound to be very exciting. Until the end, the people will have to keep waiting for the results like in a crime thriller, not knowing what is going happen next. There shall certainly be some big surprise defeats and wins; but for sure, the BJD is the only visible party in sight to form government. The BJP has lost trust lately, and the Congress is not reviving as expected. Naveen will emerge victor as per the latest surveys.

(The writer is a core member of Transparency International, Odisha)