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Rituals :

Janmashtami or Gokulashtami or Krishnashtami marks the birth of Lord Krishna, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, who came onto the earth to cleanse the human beings off their sins.

Colourful Rangoli with floral decorations are a common sight in the front yard of every house. Small feet moving into the house are drawn with rice flour to welcome Lord Krishna into the house on this auspicious day.

It is customary to keep a fast and worship the idol of Lord Krishna with all devotion on this particular day. An idol of the Lord in crawling posture is placed on a cradle over the set stage and worshipped with utmost devotion. Panchamrutha Abhishekam with Holy water, milk, ghee, oil and honey is also performed. Milk, Curds and Butter are offered to the Lord as prasadam, along with a wide variety of fruits and other preparations. The devotees then break their fast with the prasadam.

Tales of the Lord are recited in every household and towards the evening do the celebrations pick up the pace. Girls play Kolatam, commemorating the Sri Krishna Rasleelas in the gardens and children in the house are dressed in the attire of Sri Krishna.

Then do the festivity of "Utti" begin. The girls in the vicinity tie an earthen pot filled with milk, curds and butter, called "Utti", at an unreachable height and challenge the boys to break the pot. It is then that the actual struggle begins, when the men try to reach the Utti forming human towers and the women-folk constantly distract them from doing so by splashing coloured water against them. And it sure presents a great scene to be witnessed. The festivity comes to an end when the men finally end up breaking the pot after a long collective battle. Short skits and dances based the Bhagavad-Gita themes are also performed in the countryside.                                                   Continue...