Ratha Yatra, also known as the Chariot Festival, came to the city on Saturday.

A number of local dance groups performed, while festivalgoers snacked on vegetarian cuisine, browsed through spiritual books and exotic imported clothes and had some henna tattoos and face painting done.

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Municipal manager, Niel Diamond also showed his support and posed with some of the young dancers.

His holiness Kadamba Kannana Swami also gave a talk on the meaning of the ancient festival, of which the highlight was the procession whereby festivalgoers pulled an eight-metre long, colourful, wooden chariot bearing the figures of Lord Jagannath, Baladeva and Subhadra on the streets.

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The traditional Jagannath Festival of Chariots is more than 5 000 years old, observed in the ancient holy city of Jagannath Puri in India, making it the oldest street festival in the world.

According to Swami, a senior member and initiating guru of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, also known as the Hare Krishnas, the chariot is symbolic of people pulling themselves towards the spiritual world.

“Everyone who sees it is blessed. All art is meant for one purpose: to glorify Krishna,” he added. Mahesh Srini added that the pulling of the chariot also brought Krishna to the people.

The procession was accompanied by melodious singing and dancing. The route took them all the way to Sonpark and back to the civic theatre. Afterwards Prasadam was served and with it the festivities concluded.