Mumbaikars soak in Janmashtami gaiety

MUMBAI: Janmashtami, the birth of Lord Krishna, was celebrated with fervour and gaiety over Wednesday and Thursday. Fasting devotees offered 'panchamrit' at midnight and arrived early morning to rock the holy cradle.
Near Hinduja Hospital in Mahim, the 150-year-old Nathdwara temple celebrated the most important day on its calendar. Spokesperson Gangadhar Sanchihar said, "Our shrine is affiliated to Shrinathji temple in Rajasthan and we perform the traditional 'pushti margi' rituals.Vaishnavites came from Matunga, Dadar and Santa Cruz to seek darshan." Here Lord Krishna was served a Rajasthani spread of panjiri, mohanthal and shakarpara.
"At our Giriraj temple in Kandivli, devotees dressed as Yashoda, Nandbaba and the gopis rocked the holy cradle at a special Nandotsav ceremony," said trustee Girish Dholakia.
Swaminarayan temples celebrated Gokulashtami with bhajan kirtan. "We sang devotional songs till midnight on Wednesday and darshan continued well beyond that hour," said Hitesh Pa­tel, ma­nager of the Mahalaxmi br­anch. At Ghatkopar, devotees arrived until 2.30 am, said Kothari Swami Vasudev Charandasji. His deputy Shastri Rajendra Prasad Das said, "The birth of Krishna led the world from darkness to light. Dahi handi is not mere sport, it is a manifestation of unconditional love for the deity."
Sanskruti dahi handi in Thane awarded Rs 11 lakh each to Tadwadi, Mazgaon and Shiv Sai Mitra Mandal from Borivli for creating a nine-layer human pyramid. At the same venue, the women of the Sankalp Mahila Govinda Pathak from Thane created a record seven tiers and received a cash reward of Rs 5 lakh.