janamashtami Archives - Obsessivemom

28/08/201315/04/2017

Waiting for Krishna

A very very Happy Janamashtami everyone.

If you’ve been around here you’ll know that Naisha has a very soft spot for the blue God. If you haven’t, well you can read about it here and here. It was she who made sure we celebrate Janamashtami with great fervour. Not that there’s anything to not like in Krishna. Who wouldn’t love a God who’s as human as one can be?

This year we planned to make a jhanki – one of my favourite traditions from Lucknow where we’d go to see jhankis on Janamashtami night. Some of the professional ones would be gorgeous with real water flowing and idols moving around. It was one of the few nights we would stay up till late. This was also one of the first fasts I ever tried only because it was simple enough to keep – you could eat so many many goodies – yet had the thrill of being ‘really hard’ because you got to eat only after Krishna’s birth at midnight.

This year we’d planned on making a scene from Vrindavan since I wanted to keep it easy. It turned out great fun. The kids launched off with great enthu.. collecting twigs, painting them and sticking on the leaves. They made play dough gopis and enthusiastically offered up their all their toys.

And so here it is.
That’s the backdrop. It is inspired by Shruti’s craft you can check it out here. Thanks Shruti :-).

That’s the bottom half….

The the Yamuna flows bright blue while Krishna plays the flute.

And then we decided to do another one only because my SIL got me this ‘jhula’ and it was too cute to not use. I couldn’t resist putting it up.

A Krishna on the swing, a peacock feather tucked in, a Yashoda put in and we were done.

That’s what he looks like up close

and that’s my Yashoda.

Looking forward to fun times this evening when Naisha’s gang of girls comes in all dressed up. So how was your Janamashtami folks?

18/08/201215/04/2017

A time to celebrate

I love August. The month is special because it signals the beginning of celebration and the rest of the year just flies away. Rakshabandhan, Janamashtami, 15th August, Eid, Ganapati, Navaratri, Dussehra, Diwali, Christmas, whew. And we have about a dozen birthdays and anniversaries to fill in the gaps, all squeezed together in five months. Super fun.

I hardly observed half of all these festivals before Hrit and Naisha came along. Now we end up partying at every occasion.

I’m terribly behind in reporting on all the celebrations and so I begin with Janamashtami. Naisha being a very very devoted Krishna bhakt decided I wasn’t doing enough to mark the occasion and took it upon herself to invite her freinds home. Typically, she ‘forgot’ to let me know.

When the girls dropped in ready for puja I was caught unawares. Mercifully, I had little to do except get them some flowers and make prasad. With my limited cooking skills I settled for suji halwa, though the girls were game to make do with plain sugar!

They made a temple..

Krishna’s birthday gift was a new ‘flute’ since he’d lost his old one.

Then they dressed up as Radha. Of course all of them were Radha. Naisha got out all her jewellery and the girls had their pick.

Naisha, the sari veteran, lending a helping hand.

One look at all this dressing up and the boys disappeared for a game of angry birds.

However when they heard the music and the dhols..

…they couldn’t keep away and brought out their own musical instruments.

After that things got a bit out of hand and decibel levels turned dangerously high.

The Husband got back early from office and was taken aback at this unexpected festivity. Much like the boys, he disappeared behind his laptop with his cup of tea and a bowl of prasad (forgetting his diabetes!), bedroom door firmly shut. Even the dhols couldn’t entice him out.

That was Janamashtami. I’m sure Krishna would have been pleased.

Stay tuned people, I-Day coming up next.

22/08/201115/04/2017

Happy Birthday Krishna

Krishna happens to be Naisha’s ‘favourite God’ and so his birthday had to be celebrated. She went on a drawing spree. Here are some of her works.. ‘some’ being the key word. The house is littered with her drawings. I really need to find her an art class.

Krishna Radha

Points of Note (PoN): Radha’s hand increases in length to hold her pot.