India celebrates Janmashtami with great splendour

NEW DELHI: Janmashtami - the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna which is also known as 'Gokulashtami' and 'Krishna Jayanthi' - is being celebrated in myriad ways across the nation. On Wednesday and Thursday, devotees celebrated the festival by participating in processions and 'dahi handis', dressing up their children like characters from the story of Lord Krishna's life, and watching or staging re-enactments of scenes from Hindu mythology.
Re-enactments of scenes from Lord Krishna's life in Agra (left) and Ahmedabad (right).(PTI photos)
In Mumbai, 'Govindas' thronged the streets to celebrate 'Dahi Handi' - an event in which people form a human pyramid to reach an buttermilk-filled earthern pot and break it. One group of 'Govindas' did something different this year to send a message to the Supreme Court. The apex court had ruled last week that human pyramids couldn't be taller than twenty feet, and on Wednesday had rejected a plea seeking a modification of the ruling. On Thursday, the men formed a pyramid longer than 20 feet, but on the ground. Amar, one of the 'Govindas' told ANI it was a "symbolic way" of expressing their displeasure.
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In Pune, pandal organizers invited eminent Marathi actors and dancers such as Suruchi Adarkar, Surabhi Hande and Radhika Apte - of Kabali fame - for brief appearances. In the neighbourhood of Kothrud, the Om Charitable Trust will organize the city's only all-women dahi handi.
"Women don't get to participate in dahi handi programmes anywhere, so we thought of creating this platform only for them. Almost 25,000 women of the city will get to enjoy the celebrations with us," an representative of the trust said.
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In Bengaluru, sand-artist Sudarsan Pattanik gifted denizens of Garden City a magnificent sculpture of Lord Krishna's visage. The award-winning sculptor, who usually makes his sand art at Puri Beach in his native Odisha, made this particular sculpture at Cubbon Park on the occasion of an investors' meet.

In Kerala, where 'Krishna Jayanthi' - was celebrated on Wednesday, the Sangh Parivar and the Communist Party (Marxist) both organized processions amidst tight security. The CPM denied that its processions - which it called 'Nammalonnu' ("We are one") had anything to do with Janmashtami. But one of its processions - in Bakkalam - was based on 'thidambu nritham,' a ritual performed at the Thrichambaram Sreekrishna Temple. However, the party mostly used its processions to highlight socio-political issues.
Children dressed up for a Krishna Jayanthi rally in Kochi (TOI Photo)
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With inputs from agencies