Lights, flowers, abhishek & tableaux: Lucknow set to celebrate Janmashtami

Lucknow: A 100-ft-long light tunnel will be part of the Shri Krishna Janmashtami celebrations in New Ganeshganj on Monday. Apart from this, temples and other institutions have also planned extensive decorations to mark the festival.

The celebrations in New Ganeshganj will continue for a week with different cultural programmes organized daily. “A ‘phoolon wali holi’, digital jhanki, selfie point with Rover on Mars, 20 ft Shivlinga and a replica of Lord Ram’s idol in Ayodhya will be part of the celebrations,” said an organizer Anupam Mittal.

At the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) the programmes will begin from 4.30 am onwards.

“The main highlight of the celebration will be abhishek of the deity with milk, curd and water from 1008 pilgrimages which will be organized from 12 noon –12am. Cultural programmes will be held from 5pm onwards. A quiz - ‘Kon Banega Krishna Devotee’ will also be organized during the programme,” informed temple president Aparimaya Shyam Das. Nandotsava will be held on Tuesday.

A day-long celebration will be organized at Ramakrishna Math beginning from 4am onwards, with sermons, readings, dance and bhajans , said Swami Muktinathananda, Adhyaksha, Ramakrishna Math, Lucknow.

A special tableau made from 300 ice slabs will be decorated at Khatu Shyam Temple. A bhajan rendition will be held from 7 pm onwards. At Hari Sabha temple in Maqboolganj, the puja will be organized from 11pm to 12 midnight on Monday. “Puja followed by kirtan and prasad distribution will be held from 11am onwards on Tuesday, “ said Basudev Banerjee, president of the temple. Secretary Pradeep Paramanick and temple priest Tarak Nath Bhattacharya said hundreds of locals had been visiting the temple to decorate it. Community and local participation are main highlights of the Janmashtami celebrations at this temple.

At the Reserve Police Lines, a tableau depicting the birth of Lord Krishna will be set up . There will be cultural programmes by school students and Mathura-based artistes from 7pm onwards. The temple in the Reserve Police Lines has been decorated with flowers and lights.

At PAC headquarters in Mahanagar, besides a tableau and performances by school students and artistes, the youngest child will be dressed as Krishna and will be carried in a palanquin. The programmes will begin from 8.30pm onwards.

The temple complex of Radha Madhav Mandir in Daliganj will be decorated with balloons and LED lights. “Krishna Leela, dance drama, Sufi bhajan will be performed by children and artistes from 7pm onwards. This year, we have brought clothing from Varanasi along with a silver crown for the idols,” said member of the temple managing committee Anurag Sahu.

Janmashtami falls on the eighth day of the dark fortnight of Bhadrapada as per the Hindu calendar. It marks the birth of Lord Shri Krishna.

Brisk trade in jewellery markets

Lucknow: The jewellery markets also continued to do brisk business ahead of Shri Krishna Janmashtami falling on Monday. From idols made of precious metals to flutes, swings and crowns, many items were sold for ₹400 - 1 lakh in the market.

The cost of 10gms of gold and 1kg silver until filing of this report on Saturday was ₹73800 and ₹87000 respectively.

“This time, a 3-inch-tall Lord Krishna idol made of 2 gms of 24 carat gold was among the top selling products for the festival. They are available at a cost of ₹15000. Besides, silver jewellery for the deity cost around Rs. 2000-5000, flute costing about ₹3000 and a silver swing are available for ₹6000-80000,” said a jeweller in Chowk Sarrafa (jewellery) market Amrit Jain.

Another jeweller, Pradeep Agrawal said that silver flute and Lord Krishna idol were available at a cost of Rs. 500-5000 and ₹2000-15000 respectively. “Gold flutes are available at ₹25000 and krishna idols made in 22 carat gold weighing about 7gms are available at ₹45000,” said Agrawal.