Janmashtami celebrations begin in Gujarat, Maharashtra

Rajkot (Gujarat) [India], September 6 (ANI): A five day long Janmashtami fair commenced in Rajkot on Tuesday. 
According to the ministry of tourism, The mela is being held at Race Course Ground, Rajkot. The mela commenced on September 5 and will continue until September 9, and the timings are from  10:00 AM - 12:00 PM, they said. 
The Janmashtami fair also called Lokmela, Saurashtra’s biggest fair, is held in Rajkot every year during the Satam-Aathma festival on the occasion of Janmashtami, they added. Janmashtami celebrations begin in Gujarat, Maharashtra 
This fair starts on the sixth day of the festival and lasts for five days till Dasham, an official said. 
Meanwhile, In a first, the Maharashtra government led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde plans to organise a "Pro Govinda" competition, with cash prizes, for this year's ‘Dahi Handi’, an event associated with the Hindu festival of Janmashtami, state Industries Minister Uday Samant said on Saturday.  
The festival of Janmashtami is celebrated on a large scale across Maharashtra, and several Dahi Handi (earthen pots filled with yoghurt) competitions are conducted on the occasion. In the event, participants called ‘Govindas’, dressed in colourful clothes, made a human pyramid to reach the pot hung mid-air, and break it.  
"Pro Govinda is an event which was demanded for many years, but it is being organised under the leadership of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde," Maharashtra Minister Uday Samant told ANI.  
The Pro Govinda competition will take place at the NSCI dome in Worli, Mumbai, and the pot will be suspended at a height of 40ft, the minister said.  
"The first prize will be Rs 11 lakh, followed by second, third, and fourth prizes of Rs 7 lakh, 5 lakh, and 3 lakh, respectively," he said. 
Every year, the festival of Janmashtami is celebrated by Hindus to mark the birth of Lord Krishna, the God who is the embodiment of playfulness and innocence.  
As per the Hindu calendar, Lord Krishna, an avatar of Lord Vishnu, was born on the eighth day of the month of Bhadra. The day mostly falls in the months of August or September, as per the Western calendar.  
The festival of Janmashtami is celebrated by offering prayers to Lord Krishna, with beautifully decorated swings, dance and music performances, and the 'Dahi-Handi' competition.  (ANI)