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The most auspicious festival of Sri Krishna Janmashtami was celebrated at ISKCON Centre for Culture and Education (ICCE), Wellington on September 7, 2023. The grand event was conducted at the Indian Cultural Centre, Petone and saw numerous dignitaries in attendance along with the enthusiastic congregation of ICCE.
Heralding the birth of Lord Krishna, the Janmashtami celebrations were marked by the presence of 3 special dignitaries – Her Excellency Ms Neeta Bhushan, The Indian High Commissioner to New Zealand, – Honourable Chris Bishop, Member of Parliament, – Mayor of Lower Hutt Barry Campbell, and – Honourable Ginny Anderson, Minister of Police and Justice. Spiritual enthusiasts in Wellington were treated to enlivening kirtans, a glorious Abhisekam of the Lord and inspiring and fun-filled dances and dramas presented by the ICCE congregation, all designed to remind us of the appearance and pastimes of Lord Sri Krishna. The Bharatnatyam dance and the cultural dance were both enthralling performances and the drama showed the wonderful acting talents at ICCE.
There was also a fun quiz with prizes to test the attendees’ knowledge of Bhagavad Gita and Lord’s pastimes, and some of the devotees shared their personal experiences at ICCE via a short video clip. The gift stall had numerous options for buying spiritual paraphernalia and the `selfie with Krishna’ and face painting stalls were a huge hit with both the young and old.
The prasadam stalls offered a variety of delicious snacks and the free dinner prasadam served at the conclusion of the festivities was one of the highlights of the festival. The attending dignitaries whole-heartedly partook in the festivities, joining in the dancing kirtans and honouring the prasadam with the devotees. The festival concluded with the Maha-Arati of the Lord which was performed at midnight, followed by prasadam for the devotees who had observed the Janmashtami fast. While it was a long day for many of the devotees at ICCE, who had worked tirelessly over months to organise the Janmashtami festival, everyone went home with the feeling of satisfaction that can only come from selfless service of Lord Krishna in the association of His devotees.
Here is a short Video giving glimpse of the event: