24 August : Janmashtami, the birthday of Lord Krishna is being celebrated in the country with great zeal and enthusiasm and people in huge numbers are thronging various temples to see Jhankis on Lord Krishna’s life.
Come Monday, Gokul celebrates its home festival, the Nand Mahotsav, even as citizens in Mathura, Vrindaban, Govardhan and Nandgaon are busy beginning their work week, refreshed after observing a Sunday Janmashtami.
Though some may still stay back to observe this additional holiday, characterised by showers of turmeric and yoghurt and ritual tossing of ‘prasadam’ in the air by temple priests, its existence is not well known, except among the pious and scholarly, outside northern India.
And as kitchen employees and housewives go to work, churning milk for making offerings to the god, the Uttar Pradesh government has tightened its security belt, setting up five extra watchtowers, deploying Mining Squads and Anti-Sabotage Squads and restricting traffic movement inside a five kilometre radius from Sri Krishna Janmasthan.
A temporary hospital has also been set up at the Janmasthan Aushadhalaya.Changing its schedule to accommodate pilgrims, Janmasthan authorities will now have Keshav Dev temple and Bhagawat Bhavan temples open all day instead of the oppressively warm noon-to-3.30 p.m. hours, Sri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sansthan secretary Kapil Sharma said.
Local youngsters will also accost devotees in ethnic attire with offers of partaking of the famed ‘makhan misri prasadam,’ a sugar-and-butter candy, unique to the belt. DDINEWS