By IANS,
Barsana (Uttar Pradesh) : Thousands of devotees of Radha, Sri Krishna’s beloved, turned up at her birth place in Barsana, Uttar Pradesh, Sunday to celebrate herb birthday.
The main celebrations were held at the Sreeji temple atop the hill overlooking the Braj landscape in Mathura district – the area where Lord Krishna is believed to have been born and spent his youth. Festivities started Saturday evening with singing and kirtans or devotional songs.
Radhashtmi like Janmashtmi is a big festival in Braj Mandal. In Vrindavan, the celebrations will be held Monday.
The Braj Foundation has decided to hold Radhashtmi celebrations in Lucknow later this week, as according to the organisers, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati has done a lot for Braj Mandal.
Last month the Uttar Pradesh government sanctioned projects worth Rs.2 billion for development of infrastructure in the Mathura-Vrindavan-Govardhan area.
Meanwhile, the annual Swami Haridas Music and Dance Mahotsava began Sunday evening at the Fogal Ashram. This is one of the main events in this region promoting classical singing and Bhakti Sangeet or devotional music.
The participants include Uma Sharma, Sufi Singer Hansraj Hans, Dhrupad singer Vinay Bharat Ram and Malini Awasthy.