muslim performs Ratha Yatra 3 days ahead the scheduled date

Ratha Yatra is though organized in each and every village of the state still Remda has some unique feature that separates it from others. The unique is not only for date but the persons who does it. When every where it is celebrated on 2^nd day of Ashadha here it is organized 3 days ahead it is on 5^th day of Ashadha. But this not only the unique feature. Here surprisingly a Muslim family organizes the festival since generations. .when the non-Hindu are forbidden to enter the famous shrine of Puri, here a Muslim has even performed the Chhera pahara. Is not it unique? The family being the Gountia of the village performs the festival since last 3 generations.

When country is reeling under severe communal tension, the Muslim family of Remda sets an example of Communal harmony by commencing the Ratha festival every year uninterruptedly. Remda, a remote village near Brajarajnagar in Jharsuguda district becomes renowned with the act of the Gountia family. The famous Ratha festival was organized in the Remda village of Jharsuguda district on Saturday just 3 days after the Puri’s Festival.
“I belong to Muslim but I am also the member of the gountia (head) family. So I am performing the duty that my fore fathers were doing in past. Though the system of Gountia is no more in force but for the villager I am still Gountia” informed Mohammed Zamir-ul-lah.
Recalling experience in his child hood, Mr. Zamir-ul. Lah informed that as a child he got several opportunities to witness the festival and slowly it becomes a part of his life. He witnessed how his grand father and father had involved actively in the festival during those days. “I have seen those days and it became part of my life. I become devotee to lord Jagannath.” Zamir-ul-lah told.
According to him his great grand father Mr. Masud Ali had appointed as the Gountia of the village by the British ruler. Later his son Hanif became the Gountia and he started Ratha festival in the village. Hanif’s son Khalil became the gountia after the death of his father. Khalil is the father of present gountia Zamir-ur-lah.
Zamir has been performing chhera-pahara during Yatra of lord Jagannath ever since his father died. He became the first non-Hindu person to get the honour of the Chhera Pahara before the lord Jagannath. “Earlier my fore fathers were organizing the festival but I decided to perform the ritual of Chhera pahara because I wanted involved completely in the festival”, Zamir told.
The interesting part of the Ramda’s Ratha is that here festival is organized 3 days after the actual date. When the Ratha festival is observed on 2^nd day the Ashadha (dwitiya) here it is observed on 5^th day of Asadha. “It is nothing but an adjustment. Earlier we did not have our own; we were depending e idol of lord Jagannath on other temples. So we performed 3 days ahead the scheduled date to ensure the availability of lord’s idol. Though we purchased idols for our use still we did not change the date and it becomes our convention to celebrate the festival on 5^th Ashadha.
Earlier the village was not having a temple so the family was depending on the other villages for idol of lord Jagannath. Earlier lord Jagannath was brought from Kulshar (now submerged in the Hirakud reservoir) and later from Sunari village. Later they purchased the idols of Balabhadra, Jagatnnath and Subhadra but the scheduled date was never changed. “Since we do not have Brahmin priest in our village for warship, we keep the idols in Sunari village and during Ratha Yatra only we bring them to our village” Zamir-ul-lah told.
Each and every village members are celebrating this occasion as one family despite their difference of religion. “We have never experienced any dispute in our village as we live in peace”, a villager told.