30 yrs on, Puri lets queen 'see' God
	Puri (Bhubaneswar): Here is the story of someone who stays just in front of the famous Lord Jagannath temple of Orissa in Puri. But she has had to wait for nearly three decades to get a darshan of the Lord. She is none other than the Maharani of Puri and she finally got her darshan on Sunday in an elaborate ceremony. The place where the Maharaja of Puri resides is barely a few meters away from the Lord Jagannath Temple. But for the Maharani it was virtually inaccessible. The reigning Queen is allowed to have a darshan of the Lord for the first time only as part of an elaborate procession called the Gahan Bijay. The present Queen, Maharani Lilabati Patamahadei had to wait 29 years to make her first visit. Maharaja of Puri Gajapati Divya Singhdeo said, “According to the tradition the Maharaja and the Maharani are sevaks of the Lord and so long the Maharani does not perform the seva in the form of the Gahan Bijay she cannot visit the temple. This is the tradition." But when she did visit the temple it was with much more ceremony. The Queen went to the temple along with the Maharaja. The puja at the temple on this occasion was presided over by an eleven-year-old priest. As many as 35 members of the royal family were there for the occasion. BJP MP Sangeeta Singhdeo said, “I feel sorry for her. I wish she is allowed to visit more often. But traditions are equally important and they need to be followed." The last time that a maharani of the royal family visited the temple was in 1966. But now she has had her first darshan in the traditional style, at least Maharani Lilabati can now visit the temple any time she wants. Though there are some people who have protested this tradition saying that this is a feudalistic practice there is no denying of the fact that the royal couple of Puri has an important role in the Jagannath tradition of Puri.