Kids participate in a Krishna-besa contest at the Iskcon temple in Bhubaneswar during Janmasthami celebrations on Thursday. Thousands gathered at the temple to worship Lord Krishna. Rituals of swinging Lord Krishna in cradles were seen in shrines as well as houses across the capital. “Since Odias are devotees of Lord Jagannath who is a form of Lord Krishna, this day is very important for us. It is as good as Lord Jagannath’s birthday. So, we fast the whole day and visit temples. We also conduct the Krishna birth ceremony at home,” said Sunanda Mohanty, a devotee. In Puri, Krishna devotees led processions of kirtan or the musical chanting of the Lord’s name accompanied with cymbals and percussion instruments such as mridang. At the Jagannath temple, the birth ceremony of Krishna was observed late at night. “Lord Krishna is believed to have been born at midnight and so the Janmashtami celebrations always take place at night in the Puri temple. Lord Madan Mohan, the representative deity of Lord Jagannath, along with other idols of Balakrishna or the crawling baby Krishna are placed in the cradle and many songs are sung in praise of the deity,” said Surya Narayan Rathsharma, an expert on Jagannath culture. “The festivities are held for 17 days from Janmasthami and will end with the enactment of Kansa badha. Known as Krishna Lila, this form of mythological drama will be on in different areas of the city,” said Rathsharma. The festival was also observed in Cuttack, Rourkela, districts of Western Odisha, Berhampur and other regions of the state. Telegraph picture