Janamashtami in Vrindavan.

• The birth of Lord Krishna or his ‘Janamashtami’ is celebrated with the greatest fanfare and aplomb in Vrindavan. People dress up their children as little ‘Gopals’ and seek the blessings of the Lord. In almost all the temples the decoration and the fairs are planned several days in advance.  Devotees fast and spend the day and night singing hymns ( Bhajans ) in praise of Lord Krishna and his charm. At the stroke of midnight there are a number of rituals including the bathing of the Lord in milk and then it is believed that Krishna had appeared in the cradle at Vrindavan after his father, Vasudev had carried him to the home of his brother, Nand after crossing a turbulent Yamuna. Legend has it that it always rains on Janamashtami day and that is when the devotees all bathe in the sweet showers that fall from the skies like the blessings of the Lord himself. It is considered auspicious to rock the decorated cradle of infant Krishna.

A musical instrument called ‘MANJEERA’ plays a crucial role in making the background music of Bhajans.(You can check out our store for it and other collection we have.) click me!

Govardhan Puja Vrindavan.

• Another one of these are Govardhan Puja, when he had lifted the massive Govardhan Parwat or mountain on his little finger and protected the entire clans and animals of Gokul under its protective umbrella from the dangerous aggression of the stormy weather. When the elders of Krishna’s village under his persuasion begin worshipping the ‘Goverdhan parvat’ rather than Indra for rains, Krishna himself attained a huge form as the ‘Giriraj’ and accepted all their offerings. This festival is also called Annakoot.

Dahi Handi in Vrindavan.

• ‘Dahi Handi’ or ‘Reaching the Yogurt Pot’ is an interesting enactment of how the wily Krishna would get at the most inaccessible of places to satiate his own and his friend’s yearning for fresh butter churned by gopis. This festival comprising the youth of a locality getting together and forming a pyramid by standing on each other’s shoulders and steadily climbing up to great heights to reach a pot of butter or dahi hung up precariously at some very high point. This takes on the form of competitions with the prize booty going up to hundreds of rupees and gifts and lavish feasts for the winners. Therefore, to make the going tougher the competing teams pour water on the backs of the boys standing at the bottom of the pyramid and even shout out all kinds of inducements to the boys climbing up so that they are distracted and tend to fall down. However, the team that reaches the prize and breaks the pot with a coconut placed on top of the pot succeeds in winning and is celebrated by the entire community.

Holi in Vrindavan.

• The festivals of Vrindavan are unique, colorful events almost always involving ‘Raas’ or singing and dancing, the throwing of colors and eating several sweetmeats. The grandest festival, however, is the Holi festival or the festival of colors that virtually provokes everybody to lose all inhibitions and immerse themselves in the multifarious presence of the Lord. The significance of Holi is such that in some temples colored water is sprayed continuously all the year around and that too with a fervor matched with the devout passion of the devotees. One of the best places to see the enact of ‘gokul’s’ holi celebration is at the Gulal Kund of Braj. Here the young boys and girls form into troupes and dance the ‘Raas’ throughout the day and night regaling the audiences with the episodes from the life of the young Krishna depicting him as a mischievous and naughty yet very friendly and loving person. At the lake near the Govardhan hillock the waters are fragrant with the perfumed colors or ‘gulaal’. The ideology behind the colorful festival is the substance of Krishna’s love tales. He would often complain to his mother that the pretty damsel Radha with whom he was constantly playing was too proud of her fair complexion and often teased him for being so dark in comparison.

• To stop this constant speech his mother had answered that he should color up Radha in any colour of his own choosing. Krishna quickly went and colored Radhs’s cheeks with ‘gulaal’. It is this practice that opened up the colorful festival of Holi and its several additives. In fact many a young lady has her cheeks colored by her amour during this festival

• People usually wears white clothes on holi because White is a symbol of peace, purity, calmness, and emotional healing. It’s also a symbol of truth and positivity, and Hindus believe that Holi celebrates the victory of good over evil and brotherhood.

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