It was a hillock with a difference. Inspired by the pastimes associated with Lord Krishna, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) here celebrated Govardhana Puja as part of Deepavali.

And the cynosure of all eyes was the miniature Govardhana Hill, which is associated with Lord Krishna who lifted it with his little finger according to mythology. But the difference here was in the composition of the Govardhana Hill, which was painstakingly created by expert cooks using over 250 kg of various eatables. In other words, the Govardhana Hill was a mountain of sweetmeats comprising 50 kg of kesari bath, over 800 gulab jamoons, Mysore pak, jalebi, rave unde, badshah, laddoos and other culinary delights of the region.

According to Stoka Krishna Dasa, president, ISKCON, Mysore, the miniature Govardhana Hill measured 15 ft by 12 ft and was prepared with various kinds of food items, including rice preparations, sweets and savouries.

The festival was held in commemoration of Lord Krishna who lifted the Govardhana Hill to protect the residents of Vrindavan as described in Srimad Bhagavatam. In Mysore, the highlight of the celebrations, apart from the Govardhana Hill made of sweets, was the special deepothsava or lighting of the lamps which drew a large crowd.

For the general public and the devotees who visited the venue of the celebrations, Govardhana Hill was not merely a feast for the eyes, it was also a lip-smacking delight since the mountain of sweets was liberally distributed as “Prasadam”.