Janamashtami

Krishna with flute. Krishna with Radha. Krishna with cow. Krishna on top of a serpent. Krishna the maakhan chor. Krishna the charioteer. Krishna reaching out for a dahi hundi… Among all the images traditionally associated with Janmashtami, one which is perhaps the most evocative is that of the Lord encircled by his gopis.
Visions of that divine raas-leela played out in parts as we encircled Arora-sah’b (rt pic) this morning for the laughter round on the little green patch outside the Chinese Hut. After a long time, we were having sunshine and with a gentle breeze blowing across, the mood was upbeat. Everybody looked bright and colourful – Arora-sah’b in particular, in his scarlet T-shirt, grey shorts and sporty white shoes to match. As the smart man in the middle, he was very much in charge. Suddenly, he went up to the hedge, plucked a shoe flower and gallantly presented it to Sunita-ji!
What was the provocation behind this act, we shall never know. Perhaps a rose would have been more appropriate. Even then, it looked nice and in the fitness of things – very much in keeping with the mood of the occasion. There were some cheesy comments exchanged, but those were inconsequential. With strains of Anup Jalota’s bhajans on Govinda Gopala playing on the music system, it was only natural that we should all be in a state of the madhur bhava associated with Lord Krishna.
Sitaram-ji spoke at length on the variance of dates this year for celebrating Janamashtami across the country. According to him, the choice of date is entirely yours, depending on whether you want to recognize Krishna’s birth at Mathura as THE date, or if his appearance 18 km away at Gokul the following day means more to you. Among Maharashtrians, it seems the latter holds true.
Ramila-ben narrated how, in her village, blobs of freshly churned butter is chucked about by devotees as prasad to mark the festivities. Shekhawat-ji was keen to announce that he would take an off tomorrow, since he’d be observing fast today and only after midnight would he be served dinner. So the choice of whether to come tomorrow or do a phunti, is entirely yours!

Renu Babani says:
Yea, the weather was great and atmosphere filled with fun. Strange, how just exercising for less than an hour can boost one's energy for the entire day. Being in each other's company and passing crazy comments on simple and petty things can cheer up everyone, making it a great morning. I guess that is what makes us keep coming back each morning, just to spend that time together and enjoy every moment of it. Here's to being together for a long time to come!
--Renu