From “Festival of Joy” to “Celebration of Love”
More than 450 guests came for the celebration
of Janmasthami or the Birth of Lord Krishna, organized by Radha Madhav Santsang
at the Singapore Khalsa Association in the evening of the 16th of
August 2014.
The
organizing committee at Radha Madhav Satsang (RMS), can rejoice because
their efforts paid beyond expectations. For the celebration of Janmashatmi or the birthday of Krishna, they
prepped up for 400 guests but reached an
unexpected 450 and at the end, even had to turn down people. The premises of
the local Khalsa Association were packed with elegant and cheerful guests.
It was
a first attempt for RMS and by their own admission, organizers struggled with
logistics as they had no visibility on the turnout. Tickets continued selling shortly before the
evening itself. Managing catering and other arrangements kept members of RMS
busy. “Until the last minute, we counted the seats one by one to make sure we
could accommodate everybody,” shared Navraj Singh one of the volunteers.
On Janmashtami, followers of Hinduism
celebrate the birth of Baby Krishna, the 8th avatar or manifestation on Earth of
Lord Vishnu, a major figure in the Indian faith. However, as Guest of Honor and
MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC Inderjit Singh noted later on Facebook, it became a
multiracial event. Something also remarked by another
volunteer from RMS. “ Our initial objective was to gather all the Indian communities
for this moment but we were happy to see locals, Chinese and Sri Lankan join us
also,” he commented during a phone conversation.
Groups
of talented children from Jubilant Arts, a local arts school, danced on Indian
tunes. A group of children from RMS took charge of one portion of the
entertainment. In between the shows, discourses from speakers and devotional
practices, such as an Abhishek, took place.
Swami
Govindananda, a guest
lecturer who flew from Australia, explained the meaning of Janmashtami and why Lord Krishna is important. In a few minutes and
with much clarity, he shared an invaluable amount of knowledge with the guests.
The preacher enjoyed his participation in what was “the first large scale
celebration outside of India” he witnessed. He stated RMS members perfectly
captured the essence of the Janmashtami. “At the end, it was a perfect
celebration of Love, which is what Krishna is for all of us,” concluded Swami
Govindananda.
For photos of the event CLICK here.
For photos of the event CLICK here.
