Mangalore decked up for Krishnashtami

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enarada news and webcast

Enarada news and webcast

enarada news and webcast

ENARADA, Mangalore

Photos and  report By C D Souza

Krishnashtami, the birthday of Lord Krishna is celebrated with great fanfare in the coastal districts of Udupi and Mangalore.

After the rainy season Krishnashtami is the major Hindu festival which would pave the way for a festive season ahead.   Naturally, enthusiasm and happiness is writ large on the faces of people who come out in large numbers to shop for flowers and other ritualistic items that are bought as part of the celebrations.

Apart from prayers and rituals Festivals are always celebrated with traditional culinary items especially made for certain occasions like Krishnashtami.  In Udupi and Mangalore people usually make moode and kottiges and readymade containers made from leaves to prepare special delicacies flood the markets during this festival.  People throng to markets to buy these containers and also the fresh local vegetables available in the markets.

Kottige are containers made from jack fruits leaves and it is a common sight to see people preparing and selling them to wannabe customers on roadside or in markets.  Similarly moode containers made from another type of long and thin leaves of another plant are also in high demand.  For many men and women this is the time to make some quick bucks by preparing these containers.  With price rise the cost of these containers also has skyrocketed.  Till last year  a ten rupee note  could fetch at least two to three but this year each moode containers is sold at Rs. 8 to 10/-.   But since it is a tradition which is deeply rooted in our culture people buy them, no matter what the cost is.

Sesu Poojarti of Moodbidri who was preparing these moode containers near Mallikatte said that she has been preparing for over a week to get ready for this festival.  She had to buy the leaves from a person who sold them and keep all the things ready for converting the long leaves into containers. She began preparing them in the last three days.   She is happy as the containers she had prepared were sold off in no time giving her a good margin of profit.

The city central market in Hampankatta was teeming with enthusiastic people who wanted to shop for all things in one stop shop.  There were flower vendors who had queued up from early morning with heaps of flowers trying to reach out to enthusiastic buyers.  Vegetable sellers also made the most of the demand.  There was a heightened demand for traditional local vegetables like lady’s finger, ridge guard, cucumber (local) and other new crops.  It was truly a blessing for all as it did not rain giving the people the much needed respite from three months of incessant rain.

A major part of Krishnashtami celebrations will be the “mosaru kudilke’ as a symbol of Krishna’s love for dahi and butter.  Every street in the city will be festooned with lights and pots filled with dahi, fruits and other items will be hung at a height at important junctions.  There will be processions and a group of people will try to form a pyramid and reach out to those goodies by breaking these pots and there is lot of fun and entertainment in this act.   Almost every street in the city will celebrate this with tradition and gaiety.

A specialty of this region during Krishnashtami is huli vesha (tiger dance) which also forms an important part of the celebrations.

There are celebrations galore in all Krishna Mandirs and other organizations associated with Krishna movement and consciousness celebrating this with gaiety and grandeur.

In Udupi Krishnashtami celebration has special significance because of Udupi Krishna Math.  Various religious rituals, prayers and celebrations will be performed as part of Krishnashtami.

(Posted on August 28, 2013 @ 11.30 am)

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