18th Annual Janmashtami celebrated traditionally

September 8, 2007, Houston, Texas – More than 7000 Houstonians enjoyed an evening of festivity commemorating the birth of Lord Krishna at the 18th annual Janamashtmi celebration organized by the Hindus of Greater Houston (HGH). The keynote speaker Sri Nitish Bharadwaj, famous for his role as Lord Krishna in the Indian TV serial Mahabharat, described the event as “the most unique celebration” he attended in last 20 years.

“I am very impressed to see people breaking the barriers of temples, languages, caste, and creed tonight and gather here only as Hindus,” said Sri Bharadwaj. “When people ask me what class or region in India I belong to, I tell them I am first an Indian and then a Hindu.” Sri Bharadwaj further in his speech dwelt upon his favorite topic – The Gita. “Gita is a pure science, a science to resolve conflicts,” he said. He further elaborated a few verses of The Gita to explain Dharma and urged the audience to lead a life of righteousness.

Radha Dixit was the co-coordinator of the Janmashtami program. Radha narrates her feelings, “My goal this year was to promote the second and third generation of Hindus.” She achieved her goal by giving volunteering opportunities of young people and trusting them in important decision-making process. For example she chose a young kirtan group as the grand finale to support her objective

The kritan was indeed one of the highlights of the evening. Organized by the local ISKCON temple it comprised of mix of youngsters coming from different backgrounds such as Indians, Americans, Chinese, Hispanic, South American, Carribean and African American. Vamsivat Klein, 13, one of the participants of the kirtani, commented “I really enjoyed seeing everyone in the audience getting up and singing and dancing with us”. Sanjeev, 27, the coordinator of the kirtan said, “Through music our aim is to spread spirituality and I think we accomplished it very well on a grand scale this time.”

The dance schools of the Greater Houston area and several organizations participated in a wonderful series of dances, all celebrating some aspect of Krishna’s life. The talent of both the dancers and those who choreographed and directed the dances contributed greatly to the enjoyment of many attendees. The dance numbers and other items were greatly enhanced by the artistic stage decorations by Mrs. Vinnie Verma and her talented and hard-working committee.

The Janmashtami function is also marked by a unique costume contest every year; kids dress up as baby Krishna and the children in each age group with the most confident performance bags the award. This year 70 children participated in the program. There were actually so many contestants that the organizers had to turn several late entrants away. The competition was judges by none other than Sri Bharadwaj himself accompanied by Mrs. Arti Khanna, and Mrs. Sandhya Thakkar.

Dr. Sen Pathak, one of the founding members of HGH said on the occasion, “Shree Krushn Janmashtami 2007 Celebration, in my opinion, was definitely one of the best of 18 years because of the involvement of young minds and the presence of Shri Nittish Bhardwaj as our Keynote Speaker.”

The FACT exhibit on the history and persecution of the Hindu and other minority communities in Bangladesh was also on. Returning to the George R. Brown Convention Center for a second time, the exhibit was shown this time in its entirety. The 27 panels describing the history and ongoing decline of the Hindus of Bangladesh was very well-received by all those who viewed it, without raising any controversy. Many visitors were completely shocked to read of the ongoing atrocities against Bangladeshi Hindus; one mother of two was even moved to tears at their plight. Many indicated their willingness to write letters to their elected officials, encouraging the U.S. government to take action against the Bangladeshi government if it doesn't improve its track record on minority human rights.

“On a personal note, I was wholly impressed with the organization and events during the night, including the youth that were diligently storing attendees shoes, the parents who brought their children in adorable Krishna and Radha costumes, the diversity of Hindu groups represented at the various booths, and the motivational speech by the guest of honor,” said Dr. Rahul Pandit, who has been closely associated with the FACT exhibition.

To add to the flavor of the evening several temples in Houston had also set up decorations displaying various aspects of Lord Krishna’s life. Mrs. Beth Kulkarni with Woodlands Hindu Temple shared her impressions about the evening, “I am excited to be here tonight. To me, attending the community-wide Janmashtami celebration is like a “homecoming” of the best kind. I have met and worked with many Hindus through the years whom I now see mainly at the annual Janmashtami program. As I was actively involved in the celebration from its inception, it gives me great satisfaction to see young adults such as Radha who were our first youth volunteers now taking an active role as our young adult leaders and bringing their children to celebrate together”.

Not only temples but various organizations such as the Art of Living, Chinmaya Mission, and Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, had also set up their booths. Needless to say, each of the 7000 visitors found some booth to cater to their interest. “We received a lot of positive feedback! Many expressed gratitude for us being there and several took literature for themselves or others. All the information on our table was given free of charge as part of our ongoing community outreach”, said Kristen Lee Ohanyan from the Society of Peace which promotes vegetarianism.

Each year there seems to be more non-Hindus attending the event. Margaret Martin stated that, after she got used to it, she found it “relaxing to walk around barefoot.” Also noted was the friendliness and helpfulness of the Hindus to those unfamiliar to the foods and other traditions.

Food is an important part of Janmashtami celebrations and several restaurants prepared items for the evening. Earlier, Ashiana Chef Chandra Sharma, prepared special dishes for “Krishna”, Nittesh Bhardwaj.

Every year on Janmashtami the Houston community remembers late Akhil Chopra who touched the hearts of thousands with his cherubic smile and helping hand. Akhil died at an early age of 27 shot in an act of meaningless violence while meditating at a park. This year’s Akhil Chopra memorial award was given to Samhitha Murthy, a PhD student at Rice University in literature. She was recognized for a self-motivated social responsibility. In 2007, Samhita spent seven months in social service in India, including implementing a program in Early Environmental Education. “Having known Akhil Ji, I am overcome with gratitude for the honor that has been bestowed upon me. If someone saw in me even an infinitesimal grain of his peaceful spirit and his unwavering dedication to his community, then I am deeply humbled, and I will use this opportunity to share his legacy of goodwill with all those who may not have known him” says Samhita.

The youngsters say that the fun of Janmashtami actually begins when the elders leave the stage for the “garba band”. Dandiya-Raas, which as been an eternal favorite of the youth was yet again at its best. From 10:00 till midnight, old and young, guys and girls, from South or North, all who could dance, danced to the tune of Dandiya beats expressing their excitement and joy at the birth of Lord Krishna.

“This year’s Janmashtami was very special because there was a lot of excitement and joy in people’s eyes’, says Girish Naik, coordinator of the event. “We had a dedicated young team, experienced guidance from our veterans and a very special guest. This three factors put together gave excellent results making the program a grand success. The involvement of younger generation in our festival is the key factor why I have enjoyed been the overall coordinator for the past three years” he said. And many attendees would agree that the youth participation made the event special indeed!

For more information and photos, see the Chronicle’s blog