Vrindavan, 2015.09.06 (Surej Qureishi, India Today): Following the communal incident at Agra’s Shamshabad on Thursday, visiting Vrindavan on the eve of Krishna Janmashtami is an eyeopener and a lesson in communal harmony.
Vrindavan was Lord Krishna’s fabled playground, where he never differentiated between caste and creed while choosing his playmates, presenting the perfect example of harmony among classes. And Krishna’s legacy has continued in Vrindavan till date, where thousands of Muslim workers work long weeks before Janmashtami to prepare the dresses that the Krishna idols wear during the celebrations.
The dresses these Muslim workers prepare are treated by them with the same reverence as they give to their own religion and are prepared with extraordinary finesse that is customarily attributed to Muslim workers only. The quality of these dresses is so fine that they are exported all over the world and even the ISCKON temple at Delhi uses the dresses prepared in Vrindavan by these Muslim artisans.
Kapil Sharma, a bulk dealer of Pooja material, dresses and idols said that the dresses for Krishna and Radha are always in demand, but the biggest export demand comes during the month preceding Janmashtami and it becomes a huge task to get the orders completed and shipped on time. He said that every year, the overseas orders are worth Rs 10-12 crores from US, Canada, UK and even parts of Africa. He said that wherever Krishna Janmashtami is celebrated across the world by ISKCON mission, most of the dresses for Lord Krishna are prepared by the Muslim workers of Vrindavan.
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