The sunrise fESTival.
30 May to 4 June 2007. Write up my Sripad Bhaki Swarup Tridandi maharaj with photographs taken by Rasamayi Pandita Devi Dasi.
This year the festival took place for seven days, from 30 May to 4 June. As last year, it was situated near Ilchester in Somerset, conveniently located just off the A303 road which crosses the South of England between Basingstoke and Exeter.
The Temple mini-bus, fully loaded with tents cooking pots, foodstuff, gazebos and tarpaulins left London to set up camp the day before the festival was due to start. Sripad Nyasi Maharaj was driving with Krishnachandra Prabhu, our co-pujari Deva Krishna Prabhu and our venerable and learned friend from the USA, Nrsimha Chaitanya Prabhu as well as Saci Devi Dasi, Damayanti Devi Dasi, and Ashapurna Devi Dasi. On this occasion, Lavanya Mayi Devi Dasi stayed back to to ensure that things continued to run smoothly at the London Math.
The following day I was to drive up with Lalita Madhava Prabhu and Rasamayi Pandita Devi Dasi. Arriving at the festival about lunchtime we first had to negotiate the car park situation and finally arrived by horse drawn cart at our camp. The organizers had, in their wisdom, again placed our camp space in the ‘spiritual field’ which this year was entitled ‘The Sacred Heart’. The central theme here was a circular mandala arrangement whose spirals were lit up at night in a fiery chakra display. There were also some other assorted Krishna followers in tents nearby who used to visit our camp occasionally and we were happy to give them prasadam.
The crew members could avail of the port-a-cabin hot showers, and this year it seemed that the site was better organised and more compact. We were adjacent to the 'Buddha Field Cafe' but Saci Devi Dasi and helper's wonderful cooking kept attendance there at a minimum. We were managing to provide lunchtime prasadam every day, though one evening I was inspired to cook kichari, and the last couple of days we did make evening prasadam also.
Daily I would leave the site and go to some local town for collection and book distribution and returned with various items of shopping for the camp. The weather was hot and even though rain was forecast, it never came. Humidity was high however and most days I went to the river in the 'Magic Wood' and took bath, including one day when the river took my glasses. Luckily Deva Krishna had come that day and was able to drive me back to camp.
There was a lot of preaching and two visitors in particular were spending much time with us and engaging in service round our camp - vegetable cutting and cleaning up. There was generally a morning programme, Arati at lunchtime and an evening class with spontaneous Kirttan in between, On the last day a Harinam party ventured further round the festival site for 2 hours or so.
In such an environment where so many people of diverse interests are gathered, though under the supposed banner or 'celebrating the Earth and her peoples', inevitably a few tense moments arose, like when we had to request a self styled 'Wizard of the order of Melchizedek' to please cease his bizarre cavorting in our altar tent, but generally we were much appreciated and liked. Our two weapons, simply Harinam and Prasadam, proved again that they have all the potency from the Krishna Shakti to charm all ranks'.
The festival was a grand success and no doubt we will be meeting some of the friends we made there at the upcoming 'Eastern Haze' event on 20 - 22 July. So, as they say “Be there or be square!” Hare Krishna!