Rathayatra is celebrated by devotees of Lord Krishna all over the world after being introduced to the west in 1967 in San Franscisco by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and his first American disciples.
Rathayatra is the International Society for Krishna Consciousness’ biggest street festival – it features three huge, wooden chariots pulled by hand accompanied by;
- singing
- chanting
- drums
- cymbals
- and dancing
The procession ends with a stage show, festival and delicious vegetarian prasadam feast.
This website has information about the history of Rathayatra, the origin of the festival, and up to date news on UK Rathayatras (and some further afield).
Rathayatra in London
The first UK Rathayatra was held in London in 1969.
It went to Battersea Park for several years in the 1980s and 90s. Now it goes to Trafalgar Square as originally.
On the video page there is footage of London Rathayatra in 1973 where ISKCON founder Srila Prabhupada danced and spoke at Trafalgar Square.
