Celebrations took place at many places mainly at temples, in New Zealand and across the globe to commemorate the birth of Lord Hanuman, the God of power and wisdom. ‘Hanuman Janmotsava’ is among the biggest of Hindu festivals which is celebrated by Hanuman devotees with lot of devotion and fervour. Hanuman Janmotsava falls on the Chaitra Poornima day as per Hindu calendar.

Lord Hanuman is an ardent devotee of Lord Ram and is known for his unflinching devotion to his master, Lord Ram. Hanuman is considered the symbol of strength and energy. He is believed to be able to assume any form at will, wields ‘Gada’ (including other celestial weapons), move mountains, dart through air, seize the clouds and equally rival Garuda in the swiftness of flight.

The Janmotsava celebration were held at many temples across Auckland including at the oldest Indian temple in New Zealand, Bharatiya Mandir in Sandringham where several hundred people took part in the festivities both during mid-day programme and in the evening, weekly ‘Sunderkand Paath’, where more than 500 people took part. On this occasion a 51 kg ‘Laddoo’ was offered to Lord Hanuman by the duo of devotees Ravi and Bhavna Dwivedi and in the evening ‘Sunderkaand Paath’ 51 kg of ‘Imartis’ by another duo of devotees Sunny and Suchi Malhotra. These sweets were later distributed to all the devotees with ‘Mahaprasad’ or the feast after the conclusion of the ceremony. The Mandir Management Committee thanked all devotees for their unflinching support to all the Mandir activities. -TIN Bureau