Arunima Singh wrote:

epraneeth77 wrote:

Even in Telangana it is being celebrated today. Holiday also given today for College. It is celebrated by preparing items which Lord Krishna likes & he is decorated well. Not many celebrate in the South I believe as I do not see much of celebration or festive mood around. Only few houses give the items they prepared on the occassion.

It is more of a silent celebration in South India. In North it is a big grand celebration.

It must be due to the fact that Lord Krishna was born in Uttar Pradesh, which literally means Northern Area! However Lord Krishna is liked by all but celebrated more by Northern residents.

Janmastmi is as much popular in East and West as in North. Southern India has different ways of worshiping but Lord Krishna has his following too.

Janmashtami is also celebrated in Maharashtra in a big way, or rather much too big for my taste. Birth of Krishna is celebrated in many homes and temples but the highlight of the event is the public Dahi Handi celebrated in all chowks of the cities and towns. This Janmashtami I got to see Dahi Handi in Mumbai where the pot of curds and some other stuff is hung very very high and the boys make large pyramids, some make layers of 11 which is quite a feat, and try to break the pot. The winning teams are given cash awards of some kind, which politicians, in recent years have raised it to lakhs of rupees causing more youngsters to take dangerous risks. This year, one youngster lost his life casting a black mark on the celebrations.

Kalyani Nandurkar wrote:

Janmashtami is also celebrated in Maharashtra in a big way, or rather much too big for my taste. Birth of Krishna is celebrated in many homes and temples but the highlight of the event is the public Dahi Handi celebrated in all chowks of the cities and towns. This Janmashtami I got to see Dahi Handi in Mumbai where the pot of curds and some other stuff is hung very very high and the boys make large pyramids, some make layers of 11 which is quite a feat, and try to break the pot. The winning teams are given cash awards of some kind, which politicians, in recent years have raised it to lakhs of rupees causing more youngsters to take dangerous risks. This year, one youngster lost his life casting a black mark on the celebrations.

Did know that Pot of curds are broken, but such big prizes for them! Is it celebrated like Ganesh Chaturthi by funding it through some sort of Chanda from the locality households?

epraneeth77 wrote:

Kalyani Nandurkar wrote:

Janmashtami is also celebrated in Maharashtra in a big way, or rather much too big for my taste. Birth of Krishna is celebrated in many homes and temples but the highlight of the event is the public Dahi Handi celebrated in all chowks of the cities and towns. This Janmashtami I got to see Dahi Handi in Mumbai where the pot of curds and some other stuff is hung very very high and the boys make large pyramids, some make layers of 11 which is quite a feat, and try to break the pot. The winning teams are given cash awards of some kind, which politicians, in recent years have raised it to lakhs of rupees causing more youngsters to take dangerous risks. This year, one youngster lost his life casting a black mark on the celebrations.

Did know that Pot of curds are broken, but such big prizes for them! Is it celebrated like Ganesh Chaturthi by funding it through some sort of Chanda from the locality households?

Small scale celebrations get their funds from locals by way of chanda, but such large scale celebrations that I talked about are mainly sponsored and hosted by politicians in their respective strongholds to keep their voters in awe of all the power and money. This trend was essentially started in Maharashtra by NCP corporators and the dahi handi celebration in Bhiwandi, a stronghold of NCP leader Jitendra Avhad is one example. Sadly, even BJP are not averse to these kind of celebrations!

Kalyani Nandurkar wrote:

epraneeth77 wrote:

Kalyani Nandurkar wrote:

Janmashtami is also celebrated in Maharashtra in a big way, or rather much too big for my taste. Birth of Krishna is celebrated in many homes and temples but the highlight of the event is the public Dahi Handi celebrated in all chowks of the cities and towns. This Janmashtami I got to see Dahi Handi in Mumbai where the pot of curds and some other stuff is hung very very high and the boys make large pyramids, some make layers of 11 which is quite a feat, and try to break the pot. The winning teams are given cash awards of some kind, which politicians, in recent years have raised it to lakhs of rupees causing more youngsters to take dangerous risks. This year, one youngster lost his life casting a black mark on the celebrations.

Did know that Pot of curds are broken, but such big prizes for them! Is it celebrated like Ganesh Chaturthi by funding it through some sort of Chanda from the locality households?

Small scale celebrations get their funds from locals by way of chanda, but such large scale celebrations that I talked about are mainly sponsored and hosted by politicians in their respective strongholds to keep their voters in awe of all the power and money. This trend was essentially started in Maharashtra by NCP corporators and the dahi handi celebration in Bhiwandi, a stronghold of NCP leader Jitendra Avhad is one example. Sadly, even BJP are not averse to these kind of celebrations!

Base of our all festival, weather it is of, North or South is faith. But know they have became politicized. In my area here is no tradition of curds pot broken. We celebrate here with fast and worship of Lord Krishna.

I think the pomp, splendour & vibrance is good, but politicising, to what extent it is good remains to be assessed. I think time spent in spiritual Organizations like RK Math, Isckon, Temples is much better way of celebrating his birthday. Singing Bhajans, reading short stories, playing games he liked, meditating, doing pooja are much more beneficial though the celebrations outside are inevitable which is required for the society to come out of their homes & be together.

Kalyani Nandurkar wrote:

epraneeth77 wrote:

Kalyani Nandurkar wrote:

Janmashtami is also celebrated in Maharashtra in a big way, or rather much too big for my taste. Birth of Krishna is celebrated in many homes and temples but the highlight of the event is the public Dahi Handi celebrated in all chowks of the cities and towns. This Janmashtami I got to see Dahi Handi in Mumbai where the pot of curds and some other stuff is hung very very high and the boys make large pyramids, some make layers of 11 which is quite a feat, and try to break the pot. The winning teams are given cash awards of some kind, which politicians, in recent years have raised it to lakhs of rupees causing more youngsters to take dangerous risks. This year, one youngster lost his life casting a black mark on the celebrations.

Did know that Pot of curds are broken, but such big prizes for them! Is it celebrated like Ganesh Chaturthi by funding it through some sort of Chanda from the locality households?

Small scale celebrations get their funds from locals by way of chanda, but such large scale celebrations that I talked about are mainly sponsored and hosted by politicians in their respective strongholds to keep their voters in awe of all the power and money. This trend was essentially started in Maharashtra by NCP corporators and the dahi handi celebration in Bhiwandi, a stronghold of NCP leader Jitendra Avhad is one example. Sadly, even BJP are not averse to these kind of celebrations!

While earlier religious celebrations had a charm of their own because they brought families together and traditions we're kept alive , whereas, now they are all about show and one upmanship and glitzy. In my ancestral home we still stick to the good old ways of decorating the house entrance with mango leaves and marigold flowers and have a traditional Pooja, vegetarian lunch and visiting the temple with new clothes. I hope it continues .. 

usha manohar wrote:

Kalyani Nandurkar wrote:

epraneeth77 wrote:

Kalyani Nandurkar wrote:

Janmashtami is also celebrated in Maharashtra in a big way, or rather much too big for my taste. Birth of Krishna is celebrated in many homes and temples but the highlight of the event is the public Dahi Handi celebrated in all chowks of the cities and towns. This Janmashtami I got to see Dahi Handi in Mumbai where the pot of curds and some other stuff is hung very very high and the boys make large pyramids, some make layers of 11 which is quite a feat, and try to break the pot. The winning teams are given cash awards of some kind, which politicians, in recent years have raised it to lakhs of rupees causing more youngsters to take dangerous risks. This year, one youngster lost his life casting a black mark on the celebrations.

Did know that Pot of curds are broken, but such big prizes for them! Is it celebrated like Ganesh Chaturthi by funding it through some sort of Chanda from the locality households?

Small scale celebrations get their funds from locals by way of chanda, but such large scale celebrations that I talked about are mainly sponsored and hosted by politicians in their respective strongholds to keep their voters in awe of all the power and money. This trend was essentially started in Maharashtra by NCP corporators and the dahi handi celebration in Bhiwandi, a stronghold of NCP leader Jitendra Avhad is one example. Sadly, even BJP are not averse to these kind of celebrations!

While earlier religious celebrations had a charm of their own because they brought families together and traditions we're kept alive , whereas, now they are all about show and one upmanship and glitzy. In my ancestral home we still stick to the good old ways of decorating the house entrance with mango leaves and marigold flowers and have a traditional Pooja, vegetarian lunch and visiting the temple with new clothes. I hope it continues .. 

I think it is very hard for that to continue in the present generation, people are interested more in going out to different places, play games, watch T.V, Cellphone, etc that the traditions seem so time consuming for the youth. It is important for the off springs to understand the culture, its meaning & then they can enjoy the tradition with much pride & happiness. Alas! that seems to be a far fetched dream.