“Jai Jagannath!” A priest hails Jagannath, the Lord of the Universe. A million, squashed man to man in the searing Orissa summer, roars back – “Hare Krishna Hare Ram!” The epic Rath Yatra is about to begin, in the tiny coastal town of Puri. Three chariots, each bearing a god, will soon be pulled along Grand Road; this is what they have come for.

“Jai Jagannath!” The crowd is roused, and heaves some more. Many fall backwards; some faint. This year, like every other, a few will die: crushed, dehydrated, or caught in a stampede.
After all, the word ‘juggernaut’ was born after the British first witnessed Jagannath’s journey, when many were crushed under the unstoppable force of chariots.