Festival of Chariots gets a new twist

New articulated floats added a contemporary spin Sunday to an ancient Eastern ceremony that has been held along local beaches for decades.

The 34th annual Festival of the Chariots, which celebrates the pursuit of enlightenment and the traditions of a Hindu sect, drew thousands to a parade route in Santa Monica and Venice.

The star attractions were three brightly painted hand-pulled floats, two of which rose 40 feet in the air. Their domes retract to avoid wires and bridges, and their sides fold in to make them more portable.

The new models, which have with metal superstructures, replaced aging floats made largely of wood, said Anuttama Dasa, director of international communications for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.

The “chariots” were a smorgasbord of detail, festooned with fresh flowers, strings of candy, cow-shaped balloons and paintings of elephants and other symbolic elements.

The first float represented the deity Jagannatha, lord of the universe in that tradition; the second and third floats, his sister and brother, Dasa said.

Celebrators aboard the floats chanted through loudspeakers and waved fans. In the packed streets below, women in brilliantly colored saris and men in the kurta (top) and dhoti (pants) responded in song and dance, while volunteers, about four dozen to a float, pulled on jute ropes as thick as a forearm to move the floats.

Musicians skillfully beat, shook or strummed exotic instruments including the mrdanga (a drum) and manjira (cymbals that look like metal hats).

Dasa said a goal of the festival, celebrated for thousands of years in India, is to spurn materialism and “awaken the dormant spiritual consciousness in humanity.”

Jahnavi Cruz, 19, respectfully removed temporary no parking signs as the parade was passing, and no litter was left behind.

Victor Shaw, 31, doesn’t belong to the religion but called the parade “my favorite” of the year.

“It’s a celebration of diversity,” said the surf-shop operator as he watched from Main Street. “And these are killer-looking floats.”

The parade ended at a tent city of performance stages and information booths on yoga, meditation, vegetarianism, reincarnation and other topics.

The curious crowded into a question-and-answer tent, some of them working on plates of vegetable curry and lentil chips.

Local resident Ken Kokin wanted to know the difference between Hindus and Vaishnavas, the group staging the festival.

Hindu is catch-all term for a diverse brethren group of religions that originated in the region of India and that are distinct from Buddhism and Islam, said Vaisesika Das, president of a San Jose temple.

Das added that spiritual enlightenment he wants for seekers “is not the same type of happiness one feels going to Disneyland.”

The initial reaction of David Vega, a diesel mechanic from Victorville, was bewilderment when he stumbled on the festival while riding bikes with his wife and teenage daughters.

“It’s tripping me out,” he said.

He quickly revised his appraisal.

“It’s awesome,” he said, looking among the booths. “My daughters need to see how different people are.”

howard.blume@latimes.com