Hooghly, July 18 -- The enduring legacy of Guptipara Rath Yatra and the famed Gufo Sandesh continues to define the cultural identity of the historic Hooghly town, with the nearly 300-year-old chariot festival and its iconic sweet evolving together into lasting symbols of Bengal's spiritual heritage, traditional craftsmanship, and distinctive culinary legacy.
According to historian and researcher Partha Chatterjee, the origins of the Guptipara Rath Yatra can be traced to around 1740, when Vaishnava saint Madhusudananda began the annual chariot festival dedicated to Sri Vrindabanchandra Jiu. Unlike the famous Rath Yatra of Puri, the festival in Guptipara is popularly known as the Rath of Vrindabanchandra Jiu, reflecting the distinctive relig...