Mahesh, in Serampore, Hooghly district — that's where Bengal's own chariot story begins. The year was 1396. A Bengali sage named Drubananda Brahmachari couldn't make it to Puri to offer bhog to Lord Jagannath. Heartbroken, he had a dream where the Lord told him to go back home, build a temple in Mahesh, and start the festival there. He did exactly that. And it has been running without a break since.

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu himself came to Mahesh on his way to Puri. He was so moved by the devotion of the place that he renamed it 'Naba Nilachal' — New Puri. That name wasn't just a compliment. It was a recognition that this small town on the banks of the Ganges carries the same sacred weight as the original.

Today, the Mahesh chariot is a 50-foot iron giant, weighing 125 tonnes, built in 1885 by the Martin Burn Company. It is the oldest Rath Yatra in Bengal and the second oldest in the world. When it rolls, you feel the earth move — not metaphorically.

But the festival doesn't start on July 16. It actually begins a full 17 days earlier, on June 29, with Snana Yatra — the ceremonial bath of the deities using 108 pitchers of sacred water. After this bath, the Lord is considered to have caught a cold (yes, even the Lord of the Universe is not immune to monsoon fever) and retreats into seclusion for 14 days. This period is called Anasara. Temples are closed. No public darshan.

Then, just before Ratha Jatra, the deities reappear in their glowing, youthful form during Netra Utsav — and that first glimpse after the long wait is something devotees describe as unlike anything else. After nine days at the Gundicha Temple, they return on July 24. On the way back, the chariots pause at the Mausi Maa Temple, where the Lord is fed Poda Pitha — a baked sweet rice cake — by his aunt. Even gods make family visits.