More than 2,000 devoted Houston Indian Americans gathered at India House on a hot summer afternoon last weekend to pull the holy chariot. For about four years the ritual has been successfully celebrated in Houston, a custom which has been celebrated for over a thousand years in Puri, an ancient holy city of India. Called the Jagannath Rath Yatra, it is one of the oldest religious festivals in the world.

In Houston this day-long festival was made possible with the support of The Orissa Culture Center (OCC), ISKCON, Hindus of Greater Houston, India Culture Center (ICC) and many other prominent Indian Americans. It is considered a matter of great pride to be able to pull the chariot. Hindus of Houston enthusiastically participated in this festival, dragging the beautifully decorated 22-foot tall Rath (chariot) with a flag at the top.

This tradition hails from the popular belief that The Lord Jagannath (ancient Hindu God), with his elder brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra, went on vacation every year during the summer, traveling on grand chariots, from his temple in Puri, to his garden palace in the countryside. Jagannath is believed to be an avatar of Lord Vishnu the Lord of Puri, a coastal town of Orissa in the eastern part of India.

According to traditional custom,s the ‘King of Puri’ sweeps the grounds where the chariot is being pulled, which reflects an age-old tradition reminding that all human beings are equal, be it the king or a minor servant. At this year's ceremony, former India Culture Center president Swapan Dhairyawan maintained the position of 'king' and was privileged to sweep the floors before the chariot was pulled by the Houston audience, succeeding India House president Jugal Malani, who was 'king' the past two years.

“The main purpose of this Rath Yatra festival is to unite people in its festivity. All people, rich and poor or of any religious beliefs come together under one umbrella and participate in the religious as well as cultural activities," said Raghu Dass of Orissa Culture Center and co-organizer of Houston Rath Yatra 2011.

“This year’s cultural program has been taken up a notch with a beautiful stage set under the open sky with the chariot as a backdrop where our guests enjoyed an inspiring dance drama performance by an eminent Odissi Dancer, Guru Nityananda Dash and his group,” said Vijay Pallod, member of The Hindus of Greater Houston.

The highlight of the event was the performance of Dash, who even after losing a leg in a tragic bike accident, awed the audience with his spectacular dance drama, proving that nothing is impossible in this world.

“A wonderful evening and so inspiring in so many ways," said first time visitor Shashi Jajoo, wife of Sugar Land City Councilman Harish Jajoo.

Ruchi Mukherjee is a lifestyle feature journalist for TV Asia and host of the online magazine Lights Camera Action