Guyanese and other Indo Caribbean Hindus in the diaspora observed Krishna Janmashtami or the birth of Lord Krishna on Sunday and Monday August 25 and 26th at mandirs an in their homes in USA and Canada. Mandirs held services on Sunday morning as well as in the evening and on Monday evening to mark the auspicious day. This writer observed the festivities in Toronto and New York at several mandirs. There is over a hundred Guyanese and Trini mandirs in America and many in Canada spread across major cities in Texas, Florida, Minnesota, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ontario, British Columbia, and elsewhere. Mandirs were dressed and lit up with a variety of colours. Mandirs held congregational worshipping and kirtan singing.
Hindus fasted several days and made offerings (with puja) on Sunday and or Monday to commemorate the occasion. Janmashtami was observed on Monday August 26, in the East; it was a semi public holiday in India, coming righter after the observance of the festival of Raksha Bandhan (when brother-sister renew kinship ties).
For Krishen birth anniversary, puja was conducted at home and at the Mandir. Some mandirs held service throughout Sunday and Monday evenings. Worshippers congregated by the hundreds at each mandir in communities where Guyanese, Trinis, Surinamese, and Hindus in the diaspora are settled. Lord Krishna Murthi was well clad with colourful clothing and ornamental decorations and flowers. Devotees were also dressed in very colourful traditional clothing. Oblations and offerings (of mostly fruits) were made on the murthi and havan conducted.
Janmashtami is celebrated on the eighth day of the dark fortnight in the Hindu month of Bhadrapada, which generally falls in August. It is celebrated with great gaiety and splendor, singing and dancing and with elaborate rituals including of rocking of a hammock with a murthi of Lord Krishna. One is inspired by Hindu Guyanese diaspora and other nationalities coming together to celebrate the festival as they did in Guyana, Trinidad, Suriname or their home countries.
Lord Krishna, ana Avatar or reincarnation of Lord Vishnu, the Protector, lived approximately 5,227 years ago, appearing on earth as a baby to live among Hindus. Lord Krishna appeared in Mathura and lived in Vrindavan, state of Uttar Pradesh, the state from where the bulk of Indian Caribbeans were sent to Guyana and other territories. His life is recorded in the Bhagavad Gita and his name is associated with the famous Mahabharata War that saw the Pandavas and Kauravas, two sets of families, engage in battle with each other. Lord Krishna advised his cousin Arjuna to fight on the side of justice even if it meant opposing other family members. Virtue defeats vice.
