Devotees during the Iskcon’s Ultarath on Friday

KOLKATA: Devotees served at least 154 types of food items from across the world to Jagannath, Balaram and Subhadra, as they readied for the trio’s journey back home on the Iskcon-organised Ultarath on Friday.

Hundreds of foreign devotees had gathered at the shamiana on the Gurusaday Road campus of Iskcon to cook delicacies of their respective countries to be offered to the deities. The Brigade grounds, where the Rathas had been stationed for the past seven days, turned into a melting pot of cultures as pastas and pizzas from Italy jostled for space with Brazilian beans and yoghurt pudding, Shanghai noodles and Spanish paella.

Lugi Montefusco, an Italian who joined the Iskcon order in 1979, readied himself to drive Lord Jagannath’s chariot — a ritual he has been doing for the past 35 years. He, along with others from his country, prepared spaghetti eggplant parmesan, lasagne, pasta alforno and desserts and cannoli Siciliani. He had competition from Brazilian devotee Nubia Oliveira, who made rice with tomatoes, shak and salty pies — her favourite offerings for the past 27 years. “I have been offering chowmein and dumplings to the Lord for the past 23 years,” said Wu Yuki Ping, a Chinese devotee.

On all seven days, designers Sibpriya and Mili Kandoi designed special garments for the deities. The rathas started rolling around 12 noon and crossed Outram Road, J L Nehru Road, Dorina Crossing, S N Banerjee Road, Moulali, CIT Road and Park Circus before finally reaching the temple on Albert Road around 6pm.

