Celebration of Two Birthdays

A momentous week as we celebrated two birthdays: Ashu’s 6th birthday and the birth of Lord Krishna. Ashu’s birthday was a simple affair with dinner and cake with family, her favorite part being the removal of the car seat! She could not wait to get rid of that thing and now feels like a big girl in her booster! We also observed Janmashtami over the weekend at the temples. Akshay stayed two days at the munthir to practice for and participate in the program. The tradition of Janmashtami is to fast during the month and a nightlong vigil commemorating the birth of Krishna and his immediate removal by his father to a foster-home for safekeeping. At midnight, the deity of the infant Krishna is bathed, placed in a cradle and worshipped. The fast is completed after aarti, a special prayer. We had a blast doing garbas and even Ashok participated this year.