MIGHTY GOVINDA

“ Spectacular Colors, Crowds at Maiden ISKCON Holi Festival in L.A. 03/22/2013 Plumes of different hues explode in a 'Joint Throw' of colors by the entire mass of people By K.B. NAIR NORWALK, CA :  At the mega event held at the Excelsior High School Grounds here on Mar. 16 thousands of revelers descended on the venue throughout the day and into the night in the same spirit. Barely had the doors to the grounds opened than streams of people, predominantly youngsters started flowing into the expansive grounds and it was not long before revelers had to start circling the area for parking space.  The fact there was an entrance fee did not deter the crowd and by 11 am Mighty Govinda and his group and Charu Das were on the top of the huge stage coaxing and cajoling the sprawling gathering to sing and chant the praises of Lord Krishna. By then the excited mass of celebrants had swung by the supplies stall to buy packets of dry  holi colors to rub, throw and  sprinkle on one another. Very quickly the entire venue became a sea of vibrant moving colors filled with sporadic bursts of colors being flung into the atmosphere by enthusiastic members of the immense audience. A few minutes before noon, sponsors of the event were welcomed on to the stage to be introduced before  a countdown began for a joint “throw” of  colors and exactly at noon the first of them was conducted with the entire crowd gathering before the stage to fling dry colored powder into the air simultaneously. The space appeared to implode into gigantic plumes of colors before the gentle breeze transformed it into a thick cloud of charcoal color obliterating the brilliant sun for a few moments  before the images of the crowd emerged as though after a massive explosion. Organizers, sponsors, supporters and well-wishers from the Indian-American community Several music bands of different genres performed religious themes during the day and into the night and between performances and yoga demonstrations and practice there were joint color throws every two hours or so. Concurrent with the happenings on the main stage there was also a smaller secondary one alongside the  food trucks and booths carrying books, CDs, tapes, videos and religious material, run by the local ISKCON units where yoga, mantras  and kirtans were being conducted in a more intimate setting. Performers at the event also included Larisa Stow & Shakti Tribe, Deepak Ramapriya & Breath of Life Tribe,  Kirtaniyas Bass Mantra ,  MC Yogi & DJ Drez ,  Jai Krishna & Ananda Groove , Coral and Band,Kumudini, DJ by Mental Physix and the Temple Bhajan Band. Yoga sessions which were hugely popular also  were conducted by Atma & Bhangra Yoga, Marti Bradley, Alan Seigel & Asha Kalka. Refreshments, lunch, dinner and snacks were made available throughout the event for the thousands of attendees who could enjoy them seated at convenient tables and chairs set up alongside or by just having picnics by spreading themselves out on the grounds. The multi-cultural crowd enjoys itself. The idea of a Festival in Los Angeles was initiated by the ISKCON (International Society For Krishna Consciousness), Utah and conducted with the association its  temples in Culver City and Laguna Beach. Charu Das , the Festival Coordinator spoke with great elation to India Journal at the Festival. He and his wife Viabhavi who head the ISKCON temples in Salt Lake City and Spanish Fork in Utah are now seasoned veterans at conducting such huge events with  the last holi event conducted in Utah drawing almost 65,000 over two days. With requests flowing  in from the huge number of enthusiasts in the  Southern California region, he said  that he along with Roshan Khandpur in Los Angeles  decided to inaugurate a  color run here this year. He expressed he was delighted at the thousands who had already gathered so early in the day itself and was confident it would for four times or even larger next year. Khandpur was equally excited over the success of the festival and added that he was more than pleased to see the universal message of  love, peace and co-existence among all the faiths under one roof, sky and God promoted by the Indian tradition, was more than evident from the mainstream attendance representing a  cross section of every community and nationality from the population of this sprawling metropolis. The two also expressed their deep appreciation of the support and contributions of the sponsors Avdesh and Uma Agarwal, Dr Vir Nanda, Sunil Tolani, Ishwar Deedwania and Suresh Bhatti. ” - K. B. Nair