Mumbai’s Krishna temples line up Janmashtami rituals, music and midnight darshan

At ISKCON Girgaon Chowpatty, Sri Sri Radha Gopinath will be dressed in an ensemble of parrots, flowers and pomegranates for Janmashtami. Jewellery designer-turned-costume maker Shalini Parekh created it with her husband Raghunath, drawing on a Govinda-lilamrta verse about parrots brought before Radha and Krishna.

The Girgaon temple’s programme begins at 5am on September 3 with Mangal-arati and Shrimad Bhagavata classes, followed by an evening Divya-snan abhishek for donors. September 4 will bring day-long kirtans, talks on Krishna-lila and a public Kalash abhishek. Maha-arati is scheduled for midnight, with darshan open until 1am.

ISKCON Juhu will dress its deities in costumes by designer Arun Wadhwani. The Govardhannathaji temple on Gulmohar Road, Juhu, plans Janmotsav and Nandotsav on September 4 and 5.

Matunga’s Asthika Samaj temple will remain open until midnight on September 4, with a two-hour music concert from 10pm. Weekend programmes there continue through September 13, including performances by T S Krishnamurthy, Vidya Harikrishna and Bharatanatyam exponent Kalashri Dr Lata Surendra.