15 foot Cake Mountain for Govardhan Puja Maha Festival in Dallas

Due to the extensive help from a large body of devotees here in Dallas the Govardhan Puja festival has been exceedingly grand this year.  Here is a video of the cake mountain preparations.

Bhaktin Brittany decided to spend the night on Saturday so that she could work the whole evening Saturday and Sunday in preparation.  She is was amazing a real trooper.  She has a wonderful service mood.  Both my wife and her slept just for a few hours and spend both days just working hard.


We also had Anamsha and her husband Caitanya Nitai put in many hours of help


Govinda Kakkad, who just left for Govardhan Puja in Vrindavan also was very instrumental in the organization.  His mother, Kunjesvari, picking up on the inspiration of her Guru Maharaja, His Holiness Giriraj Swami, also help a lot.

Last year HH Giriraj Swami attend the festival and was very much enlivened.  He shared some very encouraging words, saying that, 'Anyone who helps to put on this Govardhan Puja festival will go Back to Godhead.'  In the mood bringing joy to exalted devotees such as Giriraj Swami, everyone strived to out do the grand scene of the previous year.  There were many beautiful lamps hanging from the trees

Here meet some the Brijbasi residents


Even Indra showed up to offer his prayers of forgiveness with Surabhi and Airavata


Here you see Nanda holding on to a worried Mother Yaśodā and whose left stands Balarāma.


and of course we have the most divinely beautiful, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī




On top of the Carob cake mountain are some Brahma bulls and other animals


Govardhan was also decorated with a beautiful Kusum Sarovar and many kunds.  In fact all the temples and kunds are mapped out on this hill.


Many others helped such as Dr. Murlidhar Govinda Prabhu, Shilpa, Madhurya Sindhu Dd, & Vrinda Priya.

Some other big helpers include ArjunKrishna Prabhu, Adishakti, Chitravasini, Madhava Vrajanatha Prabhu, and Bhakta Steve.

Lest we not forget Prema Sindhu seated next to Bhismadeva Prabhu, who took most of the photos.  You can see the album here.  Prema Sindhu Prabhu helped tremendously for festival as he does every year.  
 

Also we had Ananda Lila and her decorating team arrange a cool scene in the temple room above Śrīla Prabhupāda.

For the festival there was a very entertaining and engaging drama parikrama tour led by the students of TKG Academy under the direction of Mother Gopi Gita.  Each student group had a skit and lovely details of the different major pilgrimage spots on the hill.



I do want to save the best for last! Mother Laxmipriya and her daughter GopiKrishna and other helpers baked all of the 51 carob cakes that it took to make the hill.  That includes the 10 plus gallons of frosting.   

We will bid you farewell with two sweet videos of the Sweet Hill, Govardhan.  Please forgive us if we forgot your name for recognition.