Krishna Mela…In CMA this conjures up so many images of celebrations past. Of putting together skits and dances, of kids eating pizzas dressed as Krishna , of food stalls serving yummy food and of teachers doing last minute rehearsals to make sure there are no mistakes. How we missed it for the last 3 years of the pandemic. Finally this year , we were blessed to have Krishna Mela in our own Chinmaya Gurukul .
The preparation started a couple of months in advance . The admin team sent out the details along with the schedule. The teachers started discussions between each other and with their kids and parents to see what would best show case what the kids had learnt in class. Sunday classes became practice sessions where dialogs were handed out, and kids diligently practiced their lines.
Of course you cant have Krishna Mela without props. Requests were sent out to the props team and the leads got busy trying to conjure up thrones out of cardboard and many such requests.
All this work would make the parents, sevaks and kids very hungry. So the food team got busy trying to come up a menu for Breakfast, Lunch and Snacks. Volunteers signed up for a variety of dishes ,so they could cook for Krishna.
Teams had been busy all weekend getting different areas setup and making sure no one stepped on each other’s toes. The audio team had run dry runs to ensure all the audio equipment worked well and no kids are disappointed on their big day.
Finally May14th arrived. The programs started on dot at 8:30 and continued all the way until 5:45.There were 5 sessions with a break of 30 minutes . Every program was a delight to the senses. Listening to little kids talk about such high ideals, while singing and dancing or reciting wonderful shlokas with all the fervor and devotion ,was indeed a joy. Older kids for their part delighted parents with innovative approaches to spirituality using rap as a medium. The audience were riveted. In between , there were sevak appreciation videos which highlighted the work done by various teams in the smooth running of Chinmaya Gurukul . Everything went perfectly, kids did not forget their lines, the audio worked in sync and everyone had a great time, especially the parents and grandparents who got a glimpse into what our BalaVihar kids learn on Sundays.
When done with their performances, parents and kids roamed around the food stalls , vendor stalls selling various items, plant sale and most delightful of all was the Art Auction. Our artists from Chinmaya Mission had used their talents to make beautiful works of art and use it to raise money for Chinmaya Gurukul. Another highlight this year, came from our Green Seva team. They had collected gently used ethnic clothes and had made them as good as new and were selling it as part of their fund raising efforts.
The smiling faces of kids munching on pizzas and chugging mango lassi while dressed as a Hanuman or Radha will stay with us . Krishna Mela is a celebration of our BalaVihar Kids . And this year we were able to pull it off with the dedication, love and creativity of all the volunteers. We thank each and every one of them and pray that Gurudev’s blessings should shine on each and every one of them. We also raised a considerable amount of money through food sales, art auction, ethnic clothes drive and plant sales.
This also marks the end of the 2022-2023 BalaVihar session. This has been a memorable year in our own ashram , with events and celebrations, Cord Walkathon and Krishna Mela was a fitting finish . Have a great summer and we will see you back in August!!