Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore
Mangalore, Aug 17: It was indeed a treat to the eyes as tiny tots dressed in colourful attires as lord Krishna thronged Sri Kadri Manjunatheshwara Temple here on Sunday August 17 to participate in Krishna Vesha (costume) competition.
The competition, an annual event, was organized by Kalkura Foundation on the occasion of Krishna Janmashtami festival.
The programme was inaugurated by Laxminarayana Asranna, who lauded the organizers for hosting a competition that aimed at not only bringing out the latent talents of children but also at preserving tradition, culture and moral values.
Altogether, the competition was held in 19 categories for different age groups, including infants. This year, a new category ‘Sri Krishna Varna Vaibhava’ was introduced. Some of the other categories were ‘Kanda Krishna’ for infants, ‘Muddu Krishna’ and ‘Thunta Krishna’ for toddlers, ‘Bala Krishna’ for children between 3 and 4 years, ‘Nanda Gokula’ for those in UKG and first standard, 'Sri Krishna' for children of second to fourth standards, 'Geeta Krishna' for students up till seventh standard, 'Yasha Krishna' for those up till 10 standard, 'Radha Krishna' for girls and boys of seventh standard, and so on. Even specially-abled kids were allowed to participate.
There were also categories for mothers and fathers of the participating children. Some of the mothers dresssed as Yashoda and Devaki took part with great enthusiasm. There were fathers dressed as Vasudeva too.
The competition was held at Sri Mahaganapathi temple, Abhisheka Mandira, near Ashwatha Katte, Shri Krishna Janma Mahotsava Samithi Vedike, Abhisheka Mandira first floor, Kalyana Mantapa, Manjushree, Abhisheka Mandira and the main stage simultaneously.
Thousands of children and their parents took part in the competition. The adorable kids, beautifully adorned in myriad colours, stole hearts. There were also quiz, painting and photography contests held on the occasion.