Raghubar Das to Attend as Chief Guest at Three-Day Event
Key Points:
- Surya Mandir Committee to Hold Grand Krishna Janmashtami Celebration
- Cultural Contests for Children, Youth to Culminate on Sept 4
- Registration Forms for Competitions Already Being Distributed
JAMSHEDPUR – The Surya Mandir Committee will organise a three-day Janmashtami festival at the well-known Surya Dham in Sidgora from September 2 to 4.
Details of the event were announced at a press conference held at a hotel in Bhalubasa on Monday. Committee president Bhupendra Singh, general secretary Akhilesh Chaudhary and co-media in-charge Pramod Mishra briefed reporters on the programme.
Former Jharkhand chief minister and the temple committee’s chief patron Raghubar Das will attend the festival as chief guest. Jamshedpur East MLA Purnima Sahu and committee patron Chandragupta Singh will be present as special guests.
Special prayers, a havan, an elaborate adornment of Lord Krishna’s idol and a grand aarti will be held at the temple premises to mark Janmashtami. Special devotional programmes will also be organised at midnight to mark Lord Krishna’s birth, with a large turnout of devotees expected.
Besides the religious rituals, the festival will feature cultural competitions for children and youth. Auditions for the “Baal Radha-Krishna Sajao” competition will be held at Birsa Munda Town Hall from 5 pm on September 2, while participants for a group dance competition will be selected on September 3.
The grand finale of both competitions will take place at the Surya Mandir premises on September 4. According to Akhilesh Chaudhary, children up to the age of 10 will be eligible to take part in the Baal Radha-Krishna Sajao competition.
Winners of that contest will receive cash prizes of Rs 7,000, Rs 5,000 and Rs 3,000 for the first three positions, respectively. Meanwhile, winners of the group dance competition will be awarded Rs 20,000, Rs 15,000 and Rs 10,000 for the top three positions, along with consolation prizes for other participants.
Pramod Mishra said registration forms for the competitions have already begun being distributed. Interested participants can collect the forms from the temple premises between 9 am and 12 pm, and again between 4 pm and 7 pm.
The committee has also appointed various in-charges to oversee different aspects of the event.
The Sidgora temple recently witnessed a large gathering during the Sawan Kalash Yatra, when around 5,000 devotees took part. Raghubar Das had also earlier hoisted the national flag at the same temple on Independence Day.
Besides Sidgora, several other Jamshedpur neighbourhoods are preparing for religious and cultural events in the coming weeks, including preparations for Durga Puja pandals such as one planned in Adityapur’s Hariom Nagar. Meanwhile, MLA Purnima Sahu, who is expected to attend the Janmashtami event, has also been active in other community programmes in Sakchi in recent weeks.
