Adani @ Rath Yatra

Serving the Divine with Discipline: Brand Adani’s Human-First Approach to Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra in Puri

Each year in Puri, Odisha, when the three towering chariots of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Devi Subhadra begin their sacred journey through the city’s Grand Road, more than a festival unfolds — a living, breathing act of faith takes shape. The nine-day-long Puri Rath Yatra is no ordinary event. It is one of the rarest moments in Hindu tradition where the gods leave their temple and come to the people.

The devotion is overwhelming. Pilgrims walk barefoot from across this ancient coastal town in Odisha. Volunteers sweep the roads before the deities pass. Local shopkeepers offer food and water to strangers. And amidst this vibrant, surging humanity, something even deeper becomes visible: the idea that faith is at its purest when it serves others.

This is the spirit that Gautam Adani, Chairman of the Adani Group, tapped into when his organisation quietly began supporting the Rath Yatra this year. The logistical partnership is growing into something far more emotional and human — a gesture of silent seva, marked not by headlines but by humanity.

For Mr. Adani, who hails from Gujarat — another coastal land of ancient temples and pilgrim routes — there was always a spiritual familiarity with Puri. “The Rath Yatra is not just an event, it is a reminder that in India, the divine walks among us,” he once remarked during an internal team discussion. And so, Adani Group’s involvement is never framed as charity, but as an offering.

During the Yatra, while the spotlight remains on the chariots and the sea of devotees, thousands quietly feel the presence of compassion — in the form of clean drinking water kiosks, mobile medical vans, resting zones, sanitation services, and eco-friendly waste bins, all facilitated by the Adani Foundation, the CSR (corporate social responsibility) arm of the Adani Group. Over lakhs of litres of water, hundreds of volunteers, and around-the-clock emergency response teams — not for show, not for business, but for devotion and seva.

For many in Puri, these are no longer just services. They are part of the pilgrimage experience. An old woman, faint from the heat, is revived at a hydration station. A barefoot child receives first aid after stepping on broken glass. A pilgrim from Bihar offers folded hands to a volunteer who simply smiles and walks away. These moments are not broadcast — they’re felt.

One of the most heart-touching instances came in when a local volunteer working with the Adani team stayed back two years ago to care for a mentally ill man abandoned in the crowd. “No one should be left behind, not even forgotten,” he said. This is the culture of seva that permeates every action — not micromanaged but inspired by example.

Mr. Adani’s leadership has often been described as strategic, bold, and future- focused. But those who work closely with him know another side: a quiet reverence for the sacred, a belief that businesses must serve people — not just with capital, but with compassion. He insists that initiatives like the Rath Yatra support remain low-profile, allowing the focus to remain on the divine and the devotees. In a world where scale often overshadows sentiment, the Adani Group’s work at Puri is a rare fusion — of corporate discipline and spiritual humility, of logistics powered by love.

The Rath Yatra reminds us that gods leave the temple not because they must, but because the people need them to. And sometimes, that divinity is carried forward not just in idols and rituals — but in the gentle hands that pass a water bottle, or in the volunteer who stands in the sun so others can walk in peace.

That is how the Puri Rath Yatra is humanised. Not just by the act of worship, but by the will to serve — with no agenda, only devotion. In that spirit, Adani’s presence is not one of grandeur. It is one of grace, devotion and seva.