Antony asked me to type up my experiences at the celebrations here in Sydney, so here goes.

The Govardhana celebrations were to begin from 10.30am onwards. From 11am - 12pm a lecture on Krishna's Govardhana lilas was given by HH Ramai Swami (or so I found out the next day), while, I can only imagine, the people only half-listened at times as a sumptuous mountain of cake and prasadam called to them from their right peripheral vision. A small, golden Krishna deity cheekily stood at the cake's apex while the barn full of devotees longingly glanced sideways at its magnificence. The day was warm and they patiently but earnestly sat and listened to the pure devotee's discourse, tilting their heads now and again to catch a hint of the cool summer breeze. He spoke of a king of heaven, a mountain, torrential rains and flooding, a boy lifting up that mountain, and also something about immeasurable good fortune, bliss and ecstasy...

An hour passed and the kirtan began. Fifteen minutes later I entered the temple room, unaware of the uproar that filled the tents a mere hundred metres away. I offered my obeisances to the founder-acarya and the Lords, and then proceeded on to the festivities. A stall selling books and posters stood under a makeshift tent at the entrance of the barn. As I entered, I was met with the raucous sounds of cheering and laughter as I watched the people dancing and chanting around the colossal cake. Each was given a piece while the music played melodiously in tune with their claps. Smiles flashed across the space and greetings were exchanged.

Later on the cows refused to be worshipped as they dodged the pujaris, disconcerted by the crowd's sudden interest in them. Arms extended over the fences, hoping for a touch of Krishna's favourites. It took some minutes to corner one of them by blocking off its exit route. So the worshipping took place while the deities of Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra were carried out through the tents by some fortunate souls. Dancing, they led a kirtan all the way back and around the temple room, entering one by one with the utmost care not to drop the deities. Having successfully reached their destination, one devotee took it upon himself to lead the kirtan through the Nrsimha and Hare Krishna mantras, as onlookers jumped, danced, shouted and sang in consummate bliss, until finally, it finished.

Around ten of us made our way to the kitchens to take the prasadam to the barn, where we served out first and second servings to the ravenous mob. Abruptly enough, upon completion of this task, I sat down, ate quickly, and left to beat the Sunday evening traffic back from the city. I missed the Hare Krishna rock band. If anyone else from Sydney was there, kindly finish off my recount and fill in the holes that are no doubt present.

Hare Krishna

Here in Dallas we will be making a 1008 course feast(last year it turned out to be 1200) and we make a huge 6th carob cake made into Govardhana Hill. Underneath the hill we recreate the village of Vrindavan with Krishna, Balarama, and all their relatives and friends. We use porcelain dolls and redress them and paint them as residents of Vrindavan. They are all centered around Krishna who is lifting the hill with his extended arm. Dallas Govardhana Hill
Giridhari lifting Govardhana
Sacred kundas on Govardhan
Govardhana sila resides on top of the hill

This year we have a total of 23 dolls, we plan to make a nice village
Hare Krishna
Your humble servant
Nityananda Chandra Das