TENS of thousands of Hare Krishna devotees flocked to the area at the weekend to celebrate one of the biggest festivals of their year, Janmashtami.

The annual celebration of the birthday of Lord Krishna was held at the Bhaktivedanta Manor Hare Krishna temple in Letchmore Heath on Saturday and Sunday.

The event, which is comparable within the Hindu community to Christmas, combines traditional entertainments with worship.

Because the manor has one of the most important Hindu shrines in Britain and almost 80 acres of grounds, its Janmashtami festival is the largest outside India.

The organisers expected that 60,000 people would come through the gates of the temple, which was originally purchased by former Beatle George Harrison, over the two days.

This figure represents ten per cent of Britain's Hindu community, who are largely concentrated in the Midlands and south east of England.

Among attractions were food which ranged from traditional Indian dishes to the more Westernised cookies and pizza and chips.

A selection of trade stands meant devotees could buy all the latest Hare Krishna books, videos, magazines and CD roms and there was also a mini market selling a range of traditional trinkets.

The main tent housed a series of dances, performances and prayers on both evenings of the festival, including a new play by the manor's own theatre group, the Bhaktivedanta Players.

Green-fingered residents at the manor had prepared a prayer garden which featured more than 100 stones representing the beads of traditional Hare Krishna prayer strings. Devotees moved from stone to stone chanting mantras.

There was also a substantial queue for prayer at the temple but to entertain and inform guests during the wait a colourful display of Hindu legends had been made.

There was also a further display devoted to the life of Srila Prabhupada, the Swami who first brought Hare Krishna to the western world. The display celebrated 25 years of the temple at Bhaktivedanta Manor.

Krishna devotee Anuradha said: "We put a lot of work into the festival to make it a success but when the weather is so brilliant and everyone is enjoying themselves it is all worth it.

"It is the biggest festival of its kind in Europe but because we have the grounds and a high standard of worship at the temple many people come here for the festival.

"There are all sorts of attractions here.

"There is a bakery, for instance, where people are working for weeks in advance to get everything ready and we have catered especially well for the children.

"As the weekend wears on more and more people will come in and there will be enormous queues for the temple, up to a two-hour wait.

"It never ceases to amaze me how patiently people wait to spend just a couple of seconds there but that is what this weekend is all about."

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