Abhishek Das
Jaipuria Lucknow

28th Aug, 2013: Krishna Janmashthami was recently celebrated by the students and faculty of Jaipuria Institute of Management, Lucknow. The festival is a commemoration of the birth of the Hindu God, Krishna, and falls on the eighth day of Krishna Paksh. The event began at 6 PM with an introductory speech by Dr. S. R. Musanna, Director, Jaipuria Lucknow. It was followed by a musical act of the ‘Krishna Stuti Leela’ performed by students Deeksha, Sayani, Supriya, Bhavna, Shruti and Jatin. Another stage show of the ‘Krishna Leela’ was performed by Shekhar, Ankur, Mahima, Ankit, Dolly, Suraj, Ayushi and several other students, depicting various phases in Lord Krishna’s life. Both these presentations were greeted with great applause and enthusiasm. It was then time for the dance performances that took the audience’s breath away. First, it was the girl students who played gopis and enthralled the crowd. Then, a mesmerizing dance performance by Ajay Wadhwa (as Krishna) and several junior girls had the auditorium filled with applause.

A stunning Jhanki was set up on the campus and it drew the attention of all those who passed by, students and faculty alike. After the performances, the dance floor was thrown open to students and the air soon filled with the clacking of dandiyas. After a special dinner, seniors and juniors gathered in the meeting room to chant prayers in praise of Lord Krishna’s deeds. A traditional pooja to mark the birth of Lord Krishna was then performed at midnight.

The highlight of the event, however, was the breaking of the Dahi Handi, in which senior boys formed a human pyramid to reach the clay pot filled with butter. The event came to an end with the distribution of prasad, although the students went back with a lot more than that – they also had glorious memories of a fun-filled evening.