Held on a Sunday evening, this year's Rama Navami festival at The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), Hong Kong, drew a crowd of more than 100 people. The crowd was a mix of Indian, Chinese and Western ethnic origins, all coming together in celebration and glorification of Lord Ramachandra, truly reflecting the international and cross cultural composition of ISKCON.

Starting with melodious bhajans at 5:00 pm, the celebration continued with an enlightening and relishable account of the pastimes of Lord Ramachandra, given by His Holiness B.V.V Narasimha Maharaj, a senior sannyasi and disciple of ISKCON's founder-acharya, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

The highlight of the evening was undoubtedly the drama depicting the pastimes of Lord Ramachandra, from the moment of his appearance up to the time of his breaking the sacred bow and winning the hand of King Janak's daughter, Mother Sita, at her svayamvar ceremony.

The drama was performed by children of ISKCON's devotees and congregation, ably directed by Mr. Niranjan Bhagtani, Mrs. Pooja Bhagtani, Mrs. Kalpa Bhagat, Her Grace Gandiva devi dasi and His Grace Prabhava dasa, with a number of other devotees & congregation members all giving a helping hand to make the drama a success. It was indeed delightful to watch as the children acted out their respective roles, all dressed up in beautiful costumes.

At 7:00 pm, the sacred arati ceremony began. The doors to the altar opened to reveal the exquisitely attractive forms of Their Lordships Sri Sri Gaura Nitai, all decked out in beautiful clothes and jewellery, and bestowing their unlimited mercy on all those present. The altar was beautifully decorated with various flowers of different colours, adding to the festival atmosphere and capturing the attention of all the guests.

Needless to say, the kirtan, led by His Grace Prabhava dasa was highly infectious, and soon had everyone, young and old, men, women & children, all dancing, clapping and tapping their feet away to the sound of the MahaMantra.

Following almost 40 minutes of non-stop, ecstatic dancing and chanting, the beautiful deities of Lord Ramachandra and his divine consort Sita Devi, together with Lakshman and Hanuman, were brought out of the altar to give darshan to all present. All devotees and worshipers were invited to come forward and perform "pushpa" (flower) abhisheka, where handfuls of fragrantly scented rose petals were offered by all at the divine feet of Their Lordships.

And of course no festival or celebration at ISKCON is complete without a sumptuous feast, cooked with love and devotion, and served to all guests. Everyone honoured prasadam and ate to their hearts content. The evening concluded with a word of thanks by the emcee for the evening, Her Grace Bhavatarini devi dasi, to everyone involved, in one way or another, towards making Rama Navami 2005 a truly spiritual and enjoyable event.

SRI RAMACHANDRA KI……….JAI!