20151001 Krishna Janmashtami Celebrations

A report by Pragash Team

The festival of Shree Krishna Janmashtami was celebrated by Kashmiri Pandits all over the country with great enthusiasm and devotion and offering Poojas' temples and taking out the Shobha Yatras on 5 September.

Amidst great religious fervor and zeal, Kashmiri Pandits celebrated Krishna Janamashtami in Kashmir valley also by taking out processions and holding special Poojas at a number of places.

In Srinagar, a religious procession reportedly started at Kathleshwar Mandir in Zaindar Mohalla locality of Habba Kadal, amidst the chants of Hare Krishna; the devotees dressed in colorful attires marched through the streets of Old Srinagar and reached Lai Chowk.

Depicted as Lord Krishna, three children were atop a decorated vehicle which was being followed by the devotees. At Lai Chowk, the devotees chanted slogans in praise of Lord Krishna while they also danced near historic clock tower, locally known as ‘Ghanta Ghar’.

The traditional Janmashtami procession had come to a halt for nearly 17 years after the outbreak of militancy in 1990. However, in 2007, the procession was again taken out for the first time after militancy with the cooperation of locals and assurance of administration and since then it is a regular feature.

A large number of devotees also thronged the temple of Shri Gadadhar Ji at Old Secretariat; the event was organised by Jammu and Kashmir Dharmarth Trust Council. Since early morning, the devotees visited the temple and had the blessings of Lord Krishna and Lora Gadadhar. Bhajan Kirtan and distribution of Prasad’ among the devotees was carried out throughout the day.

According to other reports, Janamashtami was celebrated for the first time in Baramulla district since the militancy began in 1990. Lord Krishna’s Jhankis were taken out on the roads of the town. The celebrations were organized by Kashmiri Pandit Association Veerwan in the district.

The employees of the Civil Secretariat also organized an impressive function at Tulsi Baug.

A large number of Secretariat employees, womenfolk, children and locals participated in the function. The devotees offered special Pooja Archana and recitation of the Bhagavad Gita. A group of Bhajan singers from Jammu enthralled the devotees with Lord Krishna’s Bhajans. The devotees also threw light on the life and teachings of Lord Krishna and maintained that these are ever relevant in our day-to- day life and main source of development of mankind.

The festival was, as usual, celebrated in Jammu with functions at various temples which were thronged by devotees in large numbers. Religious processions and Shobha yatras' were organized showcasing the life and teachings of Lord Krisnna. Poojas went till midnight and concluded with aartis to symbolically welcome the birth of Krishna. Kashmiri Pandits settled in different cities and towns like Chandigarh, Pune, Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and other places observed the traditional fast and offered collective Pujas in homes and temples.

In Delhi NCR also Janmashtami festival was celebrated with traditional flavor at different places. Religious functions and Janki processions were reportedly organized at Noida, Rohini, Mayur Vihar and Vaishali in Ghaziabad.

“Pragash-A Ray of Hope” a youth initiative of the Kashmiri community, which for the last couple of years has been focusing on inculcating in present generation a great degree of awareness of their deep rooted religious and cultural traditions, organized a huge Janamashtami Shoba Yatra at Vaishali this year with the significant presence and blessings of elder members of the community and made it a memorable event. The entire Shoba Yatra event by Pragash was fully supported by all the well-wishers and Biradari members in a huge way, once again showing that whatever happens, we will remain united though our culture and traditions.

The procession traversed through main streets of Vaisnali covering more than three km. starting from Shivalaya Parisar, with hundreds of men, women and children walking on foot and on vehicles. Two Children dressed as Krishna and Radha were seated on a tastefully bedecked horse- driven carriage followed by talented singers and musicians singing and dancing on the decorated trucks. The tableaux and devotees were cheered by passers by and served with cold drinks and fruits on the way.

A report by Pragash Team

A large number of KP residents of Indirapuram assembled at Shiv Mandir in Shipra Sun City for a seven-hour long Puja-archana session to celebrate Janmashtami. Collective singing of Bhajan-Kirtan marked the occasion which concluded at 12 in the midnight. The event was organized by KMWA Indirapuram.

The Kashmiri Pandit Samiti Bahadurgarh celebrated Shri Krishan Janamashtami festival at Samiti temple on 5th September 2015 with great pomp and show. The Samiti Mandali recited Shri Krishan Bhajans with great enthusiasm. All the members, along with their families and also the locals participated in the function. The function was over at 1 am with collective Pooja and arti and at the end prasad was distributed among all devotees.

Zarmasatam celebrated in London 

(Roop Krishan Bhat who attented the event)

Kashmiri Pandits Cultural Society, London, organized Zarmasatam (Janam Ashtami) celebrations at the residence of one of its members, Smt. Sindhu and Sh. Sunil Kaul in Fleet in the outskirts of London on 5th September, 2015. The day-long function was attended by about sixty people from all age groups. The main attraction of the programme. was presentation of Bhajans, Gayatri mantra, religious skits and, small dance presentations based on the life and teachings of lord Krishna by children. Ladies dance and singing of Bhajans of Lord Krishna was another highlight of the programme.

The gathering was served with tasty Kashmiri snacks, tea and vegetarian food. Smt. Lakshmi Kaul, one of the principal organizers of this programme, said that the Kashmiri Pandits Cultural Society, London is regular by conducting many such community programmers every year in London to keep their socio-cultural traditions alive.

Roop Krishan Bhat (Who was in Landon and attended the event)

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Courtesy:- Roop Krishan Bhat and 2015 October, Naad