Likewise, another group of volunteers were arranging lights and placing loudspeakers at different historical structures inside the royal courtyard, which has also been enlisted in the UNESCO´s World Heritage Sites. Several tents were also set up in the area. Scores of curious onlookers gathered at the spot were watching all the preparations eagerly.
The preparations were going on to mark Krishna Janmashtami, the birthday of Lord Krishna, the eighth incarnation of Hindu God Vishu on Wednesday. The palace courtyard houses the historically and religiously important Krishna temple, which was constructed around 700 years ago by then King Siddhi Narasingh Malla of Lalitpur. [break]
“We are very busy right now as we have to complete all the arrangements as soon as possible as devotees will start thronging the temple by 12:00 am,” said Biren Lal Shrestha, secretary of Mangal Tol Sudhar Samiti (MTSS), entrusted with responsibility to organize the festival.
A myth has it that one night the Malla king dreamed that gods Krishna and Radha standing in front of the royal palace. The next morning, he ordered to build a temple in front of the palace. Since then, the temple has become a shrine for devotes of Lord Krishna and every year, on the occasion of Krishna Janmashtami, tens of thousands of people throng the temple to pay homage.
Like in the past, MTSS has made all the necessary preparations in order to facilitate devotees coming from different parts of the Valley to celebrate the birthday of Lord Krishna on Wednesday.
With the help of Lalitpur Sub-Metropolitan City (LSMC), Nepal Red Cross Society, Nepal Scout and the Nepal Police and various social organizations, MTSS is planning to hold various programs for the Krishna Janamastami, which is being observed on August 28 across the country.
Krishna Mandir of Patan, which is also enlisted in the UNESCO´s World Heritage Site, is one of the famous and most artistic temples of the Kathmandu Valley. During the occasion of Krishna Janmastami thousands of people come to worship lord Krishna. Along with the worship of lord Krishna, on the Krishna Janmastami, people spend the whole night at the temple singing bhajans, or devotional songs.
“Not only from Lalitpur, but devotees from different places visit the temple during Krishna Janmastami. So we have to make a good arrangement,” said Kiran Man Pradhan, President of the MTSS. “We alone cannot not manage the whole program, so different organizations support us.”
According to Pradhan, last year more than 70,000 visited the Krishna Mandir during the Krishna Janmastami and this year they have estimated around 1,00,000 devotees to come to the temple
Likewise, the security is managed by the Nepal Police and for the more than 650 volunteers will be deployed to assist the devotees.
“There will be more than 1000 volunteers, including the officials from the Nepal Police,” said Pradhan. “The number of visitors would drop if it rains, so we have to keep that in mind as well.”
President Ram Baran Yadav will also visit the Krishna Mandir in the morning.
The organizing committee has diverted the road section from Gabahal of Lalitpur, no vehicles will get permission to enter the Krishna Mandir premises. And they have also banned intoxicants in and around the temple.
“Last year, we had banned such things but some people had it from different sources,” said Pradhan. “The intoxicants vitiate the whole environment, so we have decided to ban it on such occasions."
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