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Rathayatra, Roller Skates & the World Cup – 2006

Rathayatra, Roller Skates & the World Cup: I began Sunday 18 June 2006 by photographing the annual Rathayatra chariot festival in Hyde Park and on its way to Trafalgar Square, before going to Parsons Green where I found the West London Green Fair rather disappointing but did briefly meet a large crowd on roller skates on a ride around London.

Later I went to New Malden to meet a friend and photograph Koreans who had gathered at a local pub to watch South Korea playing France in Leipzig in Group G of the 2006 World Cup. South Korea had earlier beaten Togo, and drew with France but a few days later lost to Switzerland and so failed to progress to the knockout phase of the cup. Below is what I wrote in 2006 (with the usual corrections) and links to more pictures from the day.

Hare Krishna: Rathayatra Festival

Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square

Rathayatra, Roller Skates & the World Cup - 2006

One of London’s more colourful annual events is the Rathayatra or Chariot Festival organised by the Hare Krishna movement. The three chariots carry representations of three deities, Lord Jagannatha (Krishna, the Lord of the Universe), Lady Subhadra and Lord Balarama, and pulling the ropes grants eternal service at the end of life in the spiritual world.

The ceremony dates back around 5000 years in the ancient holy city of Jagannath Puri in Orissa, India, but was only established in London rather more recently in 1969.

The chariots are accompanied by musicians and dancers, and there is free food for all at Trafalgar Square where the procession ends.

This year’s festival also celebrated the 108th anniversary of the birth of A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896-1977), who in 1966 founded the Hare Krishna movement.

Many more pictures here on My London Diary.

West London Green Fair

Parsons Green

I called in briefly at the West London Green Festival at Parson’s Green on my way to New Malden, but there didn’t seem to be much happening there.

The Skate Rollerstroll called in briefly, but didn’t stop for long.

Korea v France

The Fountain Pub, New Malden

*I’m about to have two stripes painted on my cheeks by this young woman*

I was on my way to New Malden, where I met up with Paul Baldesare to go and photograph Korean supporters watching the Korea v France match at one of the local pubs.

Both inside the pub and in the garden were a whole lot of large screens, with Koreans coming to watch the game.

We got there quite a while before the start when everyone was just starting to get into the mood. Soon we both had red and blue stripes painted on our faces.

It was very much a community event, with everyone enjoying themselves, and emotions obviously ran high once the game had started.

Along with the hundreds of Koreans there were a few non-Korean locals, and one French woman with a France t-shirt. I talked to her briefly before the game began, but couldn’t find her later when I went to take some photographs in the crowd. So everyone in my pictures is a Korea supporter.

When I left, a few minutes into the second half, Korea were trailing 1-0. I missed the equaliser, and the after-match celebrations when the High Street was full of Koreans celebrating the draw.

Many more pictures here on My London Diary.

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All photographs on this page are copyright © Peter Marshall.
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Rathayatra – the Festival of Chariots – 2004

Rathayatra – the Festival of Chariots: Every year in June or July people pull huge decorated chariots through the streets of London. The first festival here took place in 1969 but such chariot festivals have taken place in India since 1150 CE.

In 1968 three American couples came from San Francisco and organised London’s first Rathayatra festival, on July 27, 1969. The deities Jagannatha, Baladeva, and Subhadra made for this are still worshipped in London.

International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) or Hare Krishna, a Gaudiya Vaishnava Hindu religious movement founded in New York in 1966 became well jknown in the UK particularly because the Beatles had visited India in 1967 and they became friends of thye Hare Krishnas with George Harrison particularly promoting them.

He persuaded Apple Records to release a single “Hare Krishna Mantra” released in August 1969, and funds from this enabled them to set up a temple in London. They outgrew this and in 1973 Harrison bought a manor house with extensive grounds in Radlett, Hertfordshire which he gave to them as was renamed Bhaktivedanta Manor.

The first occasion I photographed the procession was on 20th June 2004 when I followed the procession from Hyde Park to a festival in Trafalgar Square. Here I’ll reproduce (with corrections to case & spelling) what I wrote back then, along with a few of the pictures I took.

“Sunday the streets of London were alive to the sound of ‘Hare Khrisna, Hare Krishna , Krsna Krishna , Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare….’ as several thousand supporters pulled three 40ft tall decorated wooden chariots from Hyde park to Trafalgar square to celebrate the Indian festival of Rathayatra – the Carnival of Chariots.

An extension from Hinduism, Krishna Consciousness isn’t my thing, involving abstinence from alcohol, coffee, meat, onions, mushrooms and sex except for the purposes of procreation.

The movement has come a long way from its roots in New York’s Lower East Side in the flower-power years, but still seems a part of those times.

All respect to the sincerity, honesty and friendliness of these people, and it was a great show, the biggest in London yet, but a few hours of being kind and good and aiming for perfection was enough to last me the year.

I also photographed the festival in several later year and put accounts and pictures on-line.
You can find more pictures from 20th June 2004 on My London Diary.

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All photographs on this page are copyright © Peter Marshall.
Contact me to buy prints or licence to reproduce.

Ten Years Ago – Chariots & Custody Deaths

Ten Years Ago – Chariots & Custody Deaths – On Sunday 17th June 2012 I photographed two very different events in London

Hare Krishna Chariot Festival – Hyde Park

*Effigy of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896-1977) the founder of ISKCON (Hare Krishna)*

More than a thousand Hare Krishna devotees turned up in Hyde Park on Sunday morning to pull three giant chariots through the streets of London to Trafalgar Square.

*People pull the chariots with ropes and others sweep the path for it*

The Rathayatra Chariots Festival first took place at the Jagannatha temple at Puri, Orissa on the east coast of India probably at least a thousand years ago. It celebrates the attempt by Krishna’s childhood friends who were cowherds to try and kidnap him after he became a great lord and take him back to their village on a cart.

There are three chariots to carry the three deities worshipped at Puri, e Krishna in the form of Jagannatha, his half-sister Subhadra, and Balarama her brother. Jagannath means ‘Master of the Universe’ and his name and the chariots in the festival give us the word “juggernaut”.

*Subhadra’s representation on her chariot*

Hare Krishna disciples celebrated the festival in San Francisco in 1967 and it was first celebrated by a small group here in 1969, but only became a large event in London much more recently. It is one of the more colourful annual events in the city. I left as the procession left Hyde Park.

More pictures: Hare Krishna Chariot Festival

Fathers Day Vigil for Custody Deaths – Brixton Police Station

*Family members call for Justice for Ricky Bishop, Justice for Sean Rigg*

It was Father’s Day and the families of men killed by by police held vigils on outside police stations across the country. At Brixton, the family of Ricky Bishop was joined by the sisters of Sean Rigg and friends.

The inquest into Sean Rigg’s death in Brixton Police Station in August 2008 had begun the previous week. Following his killing police issued an incredible number of false statements, lying to protect the officers involved and the IPCC backed them with further deliberately misleading statements.

Although the police failure to make investigations and properly question officers involved, along with the destruction of evidence made prosecutions of the officers involved impossible the inquest jury delivered a damning and substantial narrative verdict which included a majority view that the improper and unnecessary restraint of Sean Rigg ” more than minimally contributed” to his death.

Although later three officers were arrested for having committed perjury at the inquest the IPCC cleared one of them and the CPS decided to drop the two other cases. The family appealed and one officer was charged with perjury but was acquitted by a jury despite having admitted giving false evidence.

You can read a fuller account of the efforts by the family to get justice on Wikipedia. Although two inquiries have found a long list of failings by the police there have been no successful prosecutions of the officers involved.

Ricky Bishop was arrested by police in Brixton in November 2001 and taken to Brixton Police station. A healthy 25 year old he suffered a heart attack and was restrained by police who only later called for a paramedic. It took several hours for police to take him to hospital where he died.

None of the eight officers involved in this death have been suspended or prosecuted and they remained on active duty.

These were not the first or the last suspicious deaths involving Brixton Police station – and a woman came up during the event to tell us of her relative Colin Bardley who she said was beaten to death there around 30 years ago. And there are similar cases elsewhere. My post on My London Diary quoted from a report published by the Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody in 2011 which states ‘in total, there were 5,998 deaths recorded for the 11 years from 2000 to 2010. This is an average of 545 deaths per year. Despite the fact there have been 11 unlawful killing verdicts since 1990 there has never been a successful prosecution. ‘

More about the event, on deaths in custody and more pictures at Fathers Day Vigil.