The little Krishnas during Janmashtami festival

Hyderabad: From little ‘Krishnas’ running around, to the aroma of freshly churned butter and the sound of bhajans... Krishna Janmashtami, is hard to miss; and the Yadav community celebrates this festival on a huge scale. This festival is one of the most important ones for them and Youth Congress vice-president, Anil Kumar Yadav, whose family has been celebrating the decades-old festival, just the way it was celebrated a few hundred years ago, takes us through the celebration.
“One of my favourite memories of the festival takes me back to my childhood. The boy dressed as Krishna would step into a plate of kumkum-water and would have to walk into the home, representing baby Krishna walking into our home,” he fondly reminisces.
For the two-day festival, homes are cleaned up and the decoration starts early. “The puja is done in the evening (owing to Krishna’s birth at the night). Fresh butter and ghee are prepared at home,” says Anil.
While the adults get things sorted out, it is the children  who seem to have maximum fun, Monika Yadav, Anil’s cousin explains. “Lord Krishna was supposed to be a naughty child. So usually, children  get away with their naughtiness on this day... no one stops them because it is believed that they are the incarnation of Krishna.”
The day starts off early for the women, who prepare sweets and all the food that Lord Krishna loved.  The cow is worshipped first and a small puja is done in the cowshed, this is followed by the puja of Krishna where an idol of baby Krishna is put in a cradle and worshipped, “devotees take turns and rock the cradle,” explains Monika.
The second day of the festival is where the entire community gets together for the dahi handi ceremony — A pot with butter, ghee and milk is tied up in the community centre and is raised to a height of 20-30 feet.  “A human pyramid is created and all the youngsters from the community try to break the pot, while the women of the community try to distract them by pouring water on them,” explains Monika. “This particular ritual bears a lot of significance, because it was believed that Lord Krishna would go to his neighbour’s home and steal butter and milk that would be hanging in pots,” says Anil.