New Delhi: Delhiites today celebrated Janmashtami, the birth festival of Lord Krishna, with gaiety and devotional fervour as they thronged brightly decorated temples and observed the various rituals to mark the occasion.
The festival began with people fasting and singing ‘bhajans' (devotional hymns) throughout the night. Amidst the blowing of conch shells and the beating of drums, devotees offered prayers and attended special programmes like ‘Krishnalila' performances and dance dramas and also took part in community kitchens.
Devotees flocked the Iskcon temple, where the celebrations began with an aarti early in the morning. “Janmashtami celebrations began with the ‘mangala aarti'.
There was the ‘guru puja' after that and the ‘maha abhishek',” said one of the organisers at the temple. The Lakshmi Narayan temple, also known as Birla Mandir, and the Gouri Shankar temple in old Delhi were specially adorned for the occasion.
Devotees had to walk bare feet on Mandir Marg to reach the temple as they had to remove their footwear at a point on the road where metal detectors were placed by Delhi Police. People had to park their cars on Peshwa Road or Kali Bari Marg and walk to the temple from there. Several activities were also held at the Iskcon temple in Dwarka.
A play ‘Oh My God Returns' (OMG) was presented at the temple along with a quiz contest, ‘Kaun Banega Krishna Ka Devotee (KBKD)'.
Other Krishna temples in the national capital, including Chhatarpur temple in south Delhi and Akshardham temple in east Delhi, too, saw devotees pouring in to take part in Janmashtami celebrations.
“There was tight security in and around the bigger temples. Door-frame metal detectors and CCTVs were installed at these temples,” police said.
