Its Janmashtami Again !

Our beloved baby's birthday is here!!!  How fast a year has gone by! I love watching the Janmastami count down to midnight on TV . They show it live from the Mathura Janmasthan , Dwarkanath temple  and Banke Bihariji temple in Vraj..Im usually confused switching channels between them..the devotion and excitement of the devotees gets me jumping around ..ha haa. There I'll be gripping the remote, pacing in front of my mother ..she'll be dozing off in front of the TV .. I keep exclaiming that its almost timee ..any moment now..lol .. As the clock ticks on, I will go outside to our balcony, and stare out into the darkness of the night. The night air is cool and the deep silence is in contrast to all the excitement going on inside ..well mostly just me, and the TV.  

Wow..on a similar cold, dark night yearss ago,  in a dark dungeon in Mathura , our baby Krishna was about to take birth..I shiver and smile..and run back inside , glancing at the Puja room on my way in. 

Its 12.00 clock! I wake my mother up, shouting 'Krishna's born..look..are you even watching! ' The curtains are withdrawn to reveal Krishna's idols ..elaborately decorated . The devotees erupt into chants of 'Hare Krishna' and 'Jai Kanhaiya lal ki' ..their love and joy is so infectious .! I feel like im there.  There's 'Nand ke Anand Bhayo' playing in the background , and the temple priest starts doing the Aarti.  I rush to the Puja room and wish him a ' Happy Birthday Krishna !!!'  I have work the next morning, so I go to sleep then .. Happy thoughts of people in different parts of the world rejoicing in one tiny baby's birth fill my mind.

This is my Janmashtami night routine :) 

Happy Janmashtami eveyone!!