Three-day Festival From September 2 to Feature Radha-Krishna and Dance Contests
Key Points:
- Sidgora Surya Mandir Samiti to host three-day Janmashtami festival from September 2 to 4
- Radha-Krishna dress-up and group dance auditions scheduled for September 2 and 3
- Registration forms available till September 2 afternoon at temple office
JAMSHEDPUR – Preparations for the Shri Krishna Janmashtami festival have begun at the Sidhgora Surya Mandir in the steel city. Hundreds of children from across the city are set to dress up as Radha and Krishna during the celebrations, while hundreds more participants will perform in a group dance competition that organisers expect will draw large crowds. The temple has in recent weeks drawn large crowds for other religious observances as well.
The Surya Mandir Samiti announced the plans through a press statement issued on Wednesday by committee president Bhupendra Singh. According to the statement, the three-day festival will run from September 2 to September 4 with considerable fanfare. Auditions for the children’s Radha-Krishna dress-up contest will be held on September 2, and auditions for the group dance competition will follow on September 3. Both auditions are scheduled from 5 pm at Birsa Munda Town Hall in Sidhgora.
The finals of both competitions will be held on September 4 at the Surya Mandir premises starting at 5 pm, Singh said. Only those participants selected during the auditions will be allowed to compete in the finals. Meanwhile, three top performers from each competition will receive cash prizes and awards from the Surya Mandir Samiti, and consolation prizes will also be given to other participants.
Singh further said former chief minister Raghubar Das, who serves as the temple committee’s chief patron, is expected to attend the festival along with Jamshedpur East MLA Purnima Sahu and patron Chandragupta Singh. Das had earlier this month taken part in a flag-hoisting event at the same temple. The Janmashtami celebrations themselves will be observed with full grandeur at the temple premises from 10 pm on September 4.
Interested participants can collect registration forms for both competitions from the temple office between August 29 and September 2. Forms will be available from 9 am to noon and again from 4 pm to 7 pm during this period, according to the announcement. The last date for submitting completed forms for both competitions is September 2, up to 1 pm.
The registration fee for the Radha-Krishna dress-up competition has been fixed at Rs 50, while the fee for the group dance competition is Rs 200, organisers said.
Prem Jha, media in-charge of the Surya Mandir Samiti, said the committee has appointed coordinators to ensure smooth conduct of the various Janmashtami programmes. Gunjan Yadav has been made in-charge of the Radha-Krishna dress-up competition, supported by Akhilesh Chaudhary, Ruby Jha, Boltu Sarkar, Meera Jha, Krishnamohan Singh, Ranjit Singh and members of the Sitaramdera mandal. Dinesh Kumar has been made in-charge of the group dance competition, assisted by Amarjeet Singh Raja, Shailesh Gupta, Shashikant Singh, Kanchan Dutta, Bunty Agarwal, Pappu Upadhyay and members of the Golmuri mandal.
Janmashtami festivities have traditionally drawn large participation from residents across Jamshedpur, with women’s groups elsewhere in the city recently marking the Sawan season too. A women’s committee at New Baridih Park hosted a Sawan Mahotsav, while the Nari Shakti Samiti in Sakchi held its own Rimjhim Barse Sawan festival with MLA Purnima Sahu in attendance. Devotees from areas including Kadma and Telco are also expected to visit the temple during the Janmashtami celebrations.
