Happy Janamashtami....

Makhan ka katora
Mishri ka thaal, mitti ki khushbu
Baarish ki fuhar, Tusli maiya ki pavitrata,Radha ki ummide
Kanhaiya ka pyar, mubarak ho apko sabko "JANMASHTAMI" ka tyohar.

Yes...I was extremely delighted and highly impressed to celebrate Janamashtami with my dear friend here in USA.You wont believe even in India I never attended this festival celebrated in midnight at temple with great pomp and joy but here we got a golden oppurtunity to visit Indian temple of kentucky and enjoy the celebration.I consider our families to be very lucky as we got to see this auspicious celebration on 10th August 2012.This date will remain carved in my mind forever..

Janamashtami which is also referred to as Gokulashtami, Krishnasthami, Srijayanti.-The Birth Anniversary of Lord Krishna, the incarnation of Vishnu is celebrated with great fervour all over India especially at Mathura and Vrindavan where Lord Krishna spent his childhood....Devotees from across the world come to these pious places to celebrate Janmasthami...The temples especially in Vrindavan witness an extravagant and colourful celebration on this occasion. Raslila is performed to recreate incidents from the life of Krishna and to commemorate his love for Radha.

My friend being from mathura explained me the importance in such a manner that on hearing it..my joy knew no bounds....My ears were stucked with pride hearing pious stories,incidents,songs of shri krishna from her...Well, I am a married woman now. It is high time I get to know the significance of all the festivals. I wanted to find more information on Janamashtami, so I googled and was amazed to read so much about the festival...net search gave me lot many details about janamashtami...which was considered as simply "dahi handi" by me...but its great and beyond that...Its indeed the day to recall feelings Bhakti (devotion) and Bhav (intent) towards shri krishna...

Dahi handi is generally celebrated by youths. They break clay pots called 'Dahi-Handi', filled with curd and butter suspended high above the ground, young men and children form human pyramid to reach the pot and break it. This custom follows the habit of Lord Krishna who used to steal butter in this manner from villagers along with his friends. The reason for this is that Gokul; the place where lord Krishna spent his childhood used to generate a lot of milk and the people used to sell it in Mathura, thus depriving their children from milk and butter which is very essential for young boys and girls...

Homemade decoration made by her,Rangoli and sweet preparations,Kuttu ke pakode and lot more was so very fabulous that everything left me speechless...

Celebration began 2 days before...on very first day we planted moong seeds and barley in clay pot hoping that it will sprout very nicely...and to its surprise it sprouted so very nicely that when I had a look I was left surprised...clay was not at all visible and whole pot was filled with green color within 8 days...Thus we were very happy about it...we tied holy thread around coconut which was worn by us in our hands the very next day...

On the very same day we celebrated B'day of shri krishna by cutting homemade cake-made of dudhi ie dudhi halwa..we sang B'day rhymes and lit candles for god...we were totally enchanted to see all this...we enjoyed fast food in the form of prasadam like kuttu ke pakode,dahi aloo,lassi,charanamrit and lot more..

On the next day we visited temple during night...Temple was beautifully decorated and illuminated. Devotees had kept daylong fasts and kept themselves awake while chanting 'bhajans', until midnight follows... Midnight is the moment when Lord Krishna was born. The prayer ceremony is a simple affair. Night long prayers which extol greatness of lord krishna... mantras were being offered and religious hymns were being sung.The priests chant holy mantras and bathed the idol with Panchamrit or charanamrit which comprises of Gangajal (water from the holy Ganges River), milk, ghee (clarified butter), curd, and honey pouring all these from a conch shell....After this bath the idol of the infant Krishna (also known as Balmukund) was placed in a cradle. Devotional songs and bhajans along with garba marked the celebration of this festive occasion till 12.00 at night...everyone was given oppurtunity to give zula to bal krishna placed in cradle...seeing all this I was so very touched that tears rolled down my eyes..It was indeed happiest moment for all of us...Prasad consisting of makhan,kheer,fruits was distributed among all of us...Devotees break their day-long fast and chant - "Radhe Krishna, Hare Krishna, Radhe Radhe."

Thus it was awesome experience to celebrate Janamashatami here in USA.We will never ever forget this in our life.Looking forward to celebrate few more janamashtamis in US I thank god for the golden oppurtunity in our life....

Letter to true friend on her 26th B'day!

Hey guys, I'm here once again to ask for your opinions on something I wrote to my sweet friend on her 26th B'day.....
Her birthday is today and I really wanted her to gift something that she will cherish and treasure for-ever throughout her life...finally I deceided of a great idea of gifting her with 26 gifts as she will be turning 26 today...Among all gifts one gift was handwritten letter to her which would convey her importance in my life!

I spent few days trying to think up of a good letter to write for her as I thought this will be best gift for her... I showed it to my hubby and he said it's really sweet but I feel like I made it too sappy and emotional.Finally I did it and this one is for all of you!

Can anyone let me know if there's anything wrong with what I have so far? Is is too sappy? Should I tone it down a bit? Stuff like that. I'll greatly appreciate any input you guys give me on this...

LETTER TO MY TRUE FRIEND ON HER 26TH B'DAY

Hello, dear! How exciting that you are 26 years old tomorrow!

So....

I’m not even sure where to begin this letter really.

Can I start off by saying that you are amazing?

Because you are.

And just in case if anyone hardly tells you that, I’m telling you.

Because I love you....

Happy Birthday!!

Today is a special day for a special someone I've been lucky enough to have in my life as not only a good friend I can always rely on, but a Sister I will treasure for the rest of my life....How very exciting it is..isnt it?....I have so much to say, but I don’t know if I can condense it into one page of simple words. I sure am gonna try though.

Last few days as your birthday was approaching nearer...I was badly stuck on what to get/make/write to you. I really didnt wanted to give iPods or make-up kit, or throw a surprise party for you, but I wanted to get  something you won't ever forget, and then symbolises how much I love you....so I thought writing letter to convey my regards would be best gift for you...a sweet gift that you will really treasure for,love for and would be best among all other 25 gifts that I would present you!

Niha or sweetie or niharika call her by any name...she is my sweet little friend who has similar emotional make-up like me...so dear please dont get too emotional ...Iam feeling very self conscious to give you this letter but finally I have decided to present it to you.

Swati, I want you to know how important you really are to me and your place in my life!...I consider this is best oppurtunity to let you know that you really are my best friend. You are something out of this world swati.... You are really one of the most intelligent young women I have ever met, not to mention sweet, kind-hearted, happy, hilarious, loving, and absolutely beautiful.

For the last 25 years of your life you have walked this earth as a girl unlike any other..... You have heart of gold and a personality that should be cherished and preserved in a glass box...You really have a smile of porcelain, and the face of an angel.

You have such an amazing effect on me and my life daily. You make me laugh when I all I want to do is cry. Your smile is as contagious as the flu and whenever you’re sad I feel like I should be too.

You can turn my frowns upside down without any effort and as long as I get to see that beautiful smile on your face, I won’t have any reason not to smile too.See isnt it a miracle that within so very less time that we have been together I have observed you so very keenly and you have become my best friend...Really you are worth becoming my true friend! You have all qualities that best frnd should possess!

You have taught me a lot,say it be cooking or any simple thing of life! and I've always wanted to be just like you – a girl who can smile no matter how many times life tries to rain on her sunshine. A girl who can love others even when they step all over your heart. A girl who will stay by my side throughout life journey and any hard times...I really admire your patience the way you so happily repeat same recipes for me at least 3 times....I have copied you in many aspects of life! say it be recipes or decorating my house...you really are source of inspiration for me!

Every time I see your courage,your devotion and dedication towards anything and everything in life, and above all, your unconditional love for friends and family,no matter how they behave with you... I remind myself that this is the girl I look up to and the girl I want to keep close to my heart for all eternity..... Yes swati I dream of learning lot many things from you dear!

Words alone can never truly express how much I admire you. you have really become the reason behind breaths that I take, the tears I shed at the thought of ever losing you, and the beats of my heart that get faster every time I think about you and all the great moments we've shared together so far...so swati today on this auspicious occassion I beg for one promise from you that you will never ever leave me all alone in my walk of life...no matter whatever happens! please

Moreover, within just very less span of time rather in very few days...you have become my reason to live and my reason to love and my reason to smile. If I didn't have you in my life, I wouldn't be able to call this a life at all…

You really are an absolutely incredible individual. I have never in my whole life been so lucky and proud to have someone like you.

I have lost so much in my life, including friends that I thought I would never lose, and now I have you. When I’m with you, it feels like I know I’ll never lose you as a best friend and all my problems and stress just melt away.....

Happiness is what you bring to everyone hun. You are really unlike anyone I have ever met as I have already mentioned. There’s just something about you that draws people close to you and make them want to trust you. I know you would never lie to me or keep anything from me. Our friendship is perfect which makes me so happy. It seems as though we were meant to be best friends and I’m glad we’ve finally figured that out.

You are my shoulder to cry on and my arm to lean on and I am the same for you. There are not that many people in my life that I would die for, but when it comes to you I would die a million times over if that was what you wanted me to do. You are the best, best friend anyone could ever ask for and I appreciate everything about you.

You are really a true friend to be treasured!

Thank you so much swati, for everything you do for me. I’m ridiculously lucky to have you and I can’t wait to see what our friendship brings in the future. I love you so much swati. I hope your birthday and every other day is just perfect,happy and joyful. Best of luck in all that you do, and remember that I am always here for you no matter what.I pray god to shower his choicest blessings on sweet couple like you! Hope you have a fantastic day and year ahead! Stay blessed!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWATI!!!

Your Sister forever and always,
Supriya