Reporter -Amar Singh Parihar
Noida- The birth anniversary of Lord Krishna, Shri Krishna Janmashtami was celebrated with great pomp by ISKCON Noida on Thursday, 07 September. Devotees were busy preparing for this festival for the last four months. The entire temple was cleaned and painted and every corner of the temple was polished.
The decoration of flowers used to be made on sight. For this, rose, marigold, jasmine, orchid, tuberose and other fragrant flowers were used. The entire temple was decorated with LED lights. The whole temple looked bathed in colorful lights. Apart from this, the whole temple looked very attractive with other decorations and chandeliers .Special beautiful dresses was prepared from Vrindavan for the birth anniversary of the Lord.
On this occasion the Lord’s attire was changed thrice. The Lord was beautifully anointed with Panch Gavya (milk, curd, honey, ghee, fruit juices and flowers). 256 types of local and foreign dishes were offered to the Lord which included many types of kheer, halwa, vegetables, snacks and cakes etc. The darshan of the Lord remained open throughout the day from 4:30 am to 12 midnight. During this period there was a continuous flow of devotees throughout the day. 
Kirtan of Hare Krishna Mahamantra kept resonating throughout the day and Prasadam was distributed to every devotee visiting the temple throughout the day. Apart from this, books were distributed and people were also informed about how to do live a devotional life from home. A special cultural program was presented in the evening which was thoroughly enjoyed by the devotees. This year about four and a half lakh people including devotees from India and abroad participated in this festival. Overall, the festival was completed in a very gaiety and peaceful manner.
