Teaching kids all about Janmashtami and Lord Krishna

Growing up Janmashtami was one of my favourite festivals with the yummy mithais prepared for Bhog, the strings of fragrant mogras that adorned the temple at home, the pretty swing set decorated specially for baby Krishna, who looked absolutely adorable in those special clothes and jewels especially bought for his birthday ! But what I enjoyed most was listening to his innumerable childhood stories as I helped my mother string together those vibrant marigolds and mogras.

Every Janmashtami I try to relive those same childhood memories but now with my little one turning 5, I hope to pass on that same excitement and create new memories with my own baby Krishna. We began the excitement by decorating our own dahi handis. Baby S painted small clay pots with beautiful and vibrant acrylic colours and decorated them with shiny stones before filling them up with cotton to represent Krishna’s favourite makhan and malai.

We decorated the temple at home with the beautiful matkis and strings of marigold and mogras. Baby S was most excited to bathe baby Krishna in milk and dress him up in new his new colourful attire. I felt extremely nostalgic watching him meticulously, entwine the mogra strings all around Krishna’s swing.

Baby S wanted to know all about Janmashtmi, so we read the Krishna trilogy, from the Amma Tell Me series to learn all about Krishna’s cute and naughty tricks that kept his entire village resounding with laughter as well as his brave encounters with demons and Kansa. I love the way these books are able to recreate the most complex mythological tales in the simplest and most engaging formats to allow children to understand the meaning behind the stories without feeling lost or overwhelmed.

And finally we made Krishna’s favourite Panjiri for the Pooja. It is an integral part of the Janmashtmi celebrations and also extremely easy to make. Heat ghee in a heavy bottomed pan. Add coriander powder to it. Cook coriander powder on low-medium heat until it starts emitting its aroma. Keep stirring as it gets burned easily. After it is well-roasted remove from flame and mix in rest of the ingredients such as sugar to taste and anuts of your choice. And the panjiri is ready.

Festivals are a great way to teach little ones about the vibrant cultures and traditions of our country. And making them part of the celebrations, makes them curious to learn more about it and also teaches them the importance of offering a helping hand. Our festivals celebrate a sense of community with every member doing his or her bit, so why not allow our little ones to experience the same joy of being a part of the festivities and contribute in their own little way.

HAPPY JANMASHTAMI