Friends, I am truly fond of this festival, Janmashtami, the festival to commemorate the birth date of Lord Krishna. From last forty-four years I do decorate an elaborate ‘Jhanki’ to depict the various scenes related to birth and other activities of Krishna. On next day of Janmashtami, the festival to relate to the fun aspect of Krishna is celebrated as ‘Dahi Handi’ festival. The story of Krishna eating the butter out of an earthen pot hanged at a height is quite a popular one. Krishna and his friends used to reach out to these heights simply by making human pyramids. No one knows the truth behind these stories, but these stories have now become a symbol of jealousy amongst some groups to challenge one another to see who reaches higher. Now the government has declared it as an adventure sports. I am using the word jealousy and not the spirit of competition, as lot of undue money power has come behind this. The moment the height has been limited this year the sponsors have gone. People, who are fascinated by the heights of handi, need to see the real heights behind the personality of Lord Krishna.
Krishna is a symbol of multiple talents woven around with threads of love. In real life we see that talent often brings an inherent ego and superbia. Sharing of talent with friends and families with devotion and love removes this ego and makes the talent useful for everyone. While the story of Ram is about a unique incarnation of GOD in human form to depict extra-ordinary self control for becoming the best amongst the best, we needed a form that can connect with the masses with love. I feel that to explain the concept of love, icons like Yashoda, Radha, Sudama, Devki, Balram and many more such forms were created. We have a lot more than this in our stories connected to each festival. It is up to us, what kind of heights we want to reach, “Handi Heights” or “Krishna Heights”.
Dr. Sunil Ji Garg
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