Day of festivity, all for the love of the Lord

The mischievous but much-adored maakhanchor is all set to receive a king's welcome in the city today, on the occasion of Janmashtami.

Portrayed in Hindu mythology as a naughty young boy with a penchant for stealing butter, Lord Krishna holds special significance in Gujarat, where He is believed to have spent a part of his life.

Naturally then, a religious wave has swept across the state ahead of Janmashtami. Temples in the city have been beautifully decorated for the occasion, even as thousands of devotees are preparing to participate in various programmes and festivities organised across the city to mark the auspicious moment.

Janmashtami celebrations at the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) temple will commence at 4.30am. The temple plans to have a mangal aarti, kirtan and japa yagna, followed by a guru puja. .

The evening programme at ISKCON will begin at 6.00pm .
Chief minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend the festivities at ISKCON and also take part in the Krishna janma abhishek and aarti at midnight, said temple authorities.

The Kalyan Pushti Haveli at Vastrapur will commence Janmashtami celebrations with a panchamrit snaan. This will be followed by rajbhog and sandhya aarti. The birth of the Lord and the second panchamrit snaan will take place at 12.00am.

The Shri Pushti Parivar Trust temple at Prahlad nagar will hold a panchamrit snaan, followed by tilak darshan and rajbhog darshan. It will also have a jaagran darshan, while Krishna janam festivities will commence at 12.00am.

The Swaminarayan temple at Kalupur will mark the birth of the Lord with bhajan-kirtan, along with raas garba, aarti and Krishna janam festivities.

The Samast Patel Social Group has organised a shobha yatra, which will commence from Diamond Park on Nikol village road at 1.00pm, and culminate at the same spot at 6.30pm . Leading clubs Rajpath and Karnavati will also celebrate Janmashtami in a grand manner.

At Rajpath, famous singer Manhar Udhas will sing a variety of bhajans of Lord Krishna in tandem with a musical orchestra. The Karnavati Club will have Janmashtami celebrations between 9.00pm and 12.00am at its lawns.

Source http://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/report_day-of-festivity-all-for-the-love-of-the-lord_1432479