Prayagraj: With barely 48 hours left for Krishna Janmashtami, the birthday of Lord Krishna, the city markets are flooded with colourful, designer and traditional dresses for the deity and decorative items.Prominent Krishna temples have started preparations for decoration of the temples. Special jewellery and accessories for the deity like crowns and headgear, jewellery, swings, dresses and flutes are being brought from Mathura, Surat, Kolkata and other states.Ayush Srivastava, a prominent trader at Chowk, said, “The sale for decorative items has gone up ahead of the festival. The city is in a festive mood. Temples have started preparations for special decoration and shringar of Lord Krishna. We hope for a brisk business this year.” Traders at Chowk, Civil Lines, Katra and other localities claimed that there is a huge demand for décor.This year, Rajasthani dresses for Lord Krishna and Goddess Radha have been brought from Mathura and Vrindavan. At Chowk market, silk dresses brought from Surat and Kolkata are in great demand.The temples have also planned special events for the occasion. Special groups have been invited by the temples from different parts of the country to perform ‘keertan’, ‘bhajan’ and special puja.A priest at an old city temple said, “Special decoration of the temple would be done to celebrate the festival. Decorative items have been brought from Mathura, Gujarat and Delhi. We would be holding grand celebrations this year.” Locals too have made elaborate plans to decorate jhankis (tableaux) at their homes and are busy making last-minute purchases.Demand for clay idols, colourful dresses and handicraft articles has also gone up. Anjali Bhargava, a working woman, said, “We have been celebrating Janmashtami since childhood. This time, the same tradition would be followed and the idol of Lord Krishna would be placed inside a cucumber which signifies his birth.” Special prasad like ‘panjiri’, shrikhand, ‘panchamrut’ and other delicacies will be prepared at home for Krishna’s birthday.
