Vrindavan Festival

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Thousands of devotees are converging on Mayapur for the historic installation

of the the Panca-Tattva Deities. Then there will be a wonderful Gaura Purnima

Festival culminating on the Holy Appearance Day of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu on

the 6th of March. After the Mayapur Festival, we are planning a wonderful

festival for the Vrindavan half of the Mayapur-Vrindavan Festival. Preparations

are now underway to welcome all the devotees to Sri Vrindavan Dhama and give

them darshan of all the holy pastime places of Sri Sri Radha and Shyamsunder.

In the midst of all the festivities will be the famous Boat Festival on the

evening of the 13th March, when Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Shyamsunder ride

in a flower bedecked boat in the courtyard of Krishna Balaram Mandir.

 

The following is the parikrama schedule. For convenience of the devotees we are

dividing the parikrama parties in two groups. Group A for all those who

understand English and Group B for those who require translation.

 

8th Vrindavana Temples - afternoon

 

9th Varsana - Group A

Nandagoan - Group B

 

10th Nandagoan - Group A

Varsana - Group B

 

12th Goverdhan Parikrama

 

13th Boat Festival

 

14th Radha-kunda - Group A

Gokul - Group B

 

15th Gokul - Group A

Radha-kunda - Group B

 

17th Ekadasi Vrindavan Parikrama

 

18th Festival Ends

 

20th All night kirtan at Vrinda Kunda

 

21st Baba Madhava das Disap. festival at Vrinda Kunda

 

For those devotees coming from Mayapur, there are several ways to reach

Vrindavan. By air, one can book a flight from Calcutta to Delhi and then take a

taxi to Vrindavan. From the airport, one may also take a taxi or the shuttle

bus to New Delhi Train Station and almost every hour a train is going to

Mathura. From Mathura, an autoriksaw will take around Rs.70 or taxi Rs.150.

 

By train, the fastest is the Rajdhani, but also most costly as you pay for food

whether you take it or not. Then you can take a taxi to Vrindavan or train to

Mathura. Next are the Poorva and the Kalka Mail both of which stop at Tundla,

where most trains coming from Calcutta stop before reaching Delhi so you can

save time and money reaching Vrindavan. From Tundla, taxis, jeeps, and Tata

Sumos are available to Vrindavan. There are many other trains most of which

will stop at Tundla. My favorite is the Howrah-Jodhpur Express to Agra that

since it doesn't go to Delhi, is not crowded and easy to get reservation. One

helpful hint is don't get down at Agra but at Tundla, as from Tundla to Agra it

is a single line and can take almost 2 hours to go 30 kms. There is only one

train that goes from Calcutta to Mathura called the Toofan, but once you have

taken it, you will vow never to take it again. The Toofan is Tooslow! Plus

although you're in reserved, especially in the 2nd class, you'll have many

people sitting on the edge of your seat while you try to sleep.

 

For anyone who requires taxi, we have a special service just like in Kartika

where we can arrange a taxi from Vrindavan at very low rates. Most of our

Vrindavan taxis are diesel so they give much better rates than Delhi taxis and

we know all our drivers very well so your journey will be safe. We have

experience than one devotee paid almost Rs.4,500 for a Delhi taxi! So to serve

the Vaisnavas, we have started this taxi booking service. The following are the

rates:

 

Delhi airport

Rs.1,150 for Ambassador up to five people

Rs.1,500 for Tata Sumo up to ten people

plus about Rs.150 for parking while the taxi waits

 

Delhi Train Station\Temple

Rs.1,150 for Ambassador

Rs.1,500 for Tata Sumo

 

Tundla Train Station

Rs.750 for Ambassador

Rs.1,000 for Tata Sumo

plus Rs.50 toll tax

 

To book your taxi please contact the following with this Information:

 

1) Date and time of arrival.

2) Airline and Flt. # or Train name

3) From which city the flight is arriving (flight only).

4) Number of devotees in your party.

 

Sanjay at 0565 254-0343

Parsada Mataji at sarvabhauma (AT) pamho (DOT) net

 

There will be a Krishna Balaram Mini-Market from 25th February to 25th March.

Anyone interested in a table should contact Janardana Prabhu:

janardana.gkg (AT) pamho (DOT) net

0565 254-0690

09810490105

 

We will also have a table in Mayapur to serve you near the Mayapur Festival

registration office.

 

At this point, all accommodation at the Krishna Balaram Guest House and MVT is

completely booked up. Still when you reach Vrindavan, our Information Center

beside the temple entrance is ready to assist you as there are many new

guesthouses in Vrindavan and there is always a place to stay.

 

In service of Sri Sri Krishna Balaram,

Deena Bandhu dasa