ISKCON Coventry 3 year old Leads Kirtan

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Times of India: Akshaya Patra to supply food at Civil Hospital

AHMEDABAD: The project of supplying healthy and nutritious food to the patients of the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, which has been given to Akshaya Patra Foundation (APF), will be formally inaugurated by state health minister Jay Narayan Vyas on Thursday.

Hare Krishna Movement, a sister concern of Akshaya Patra, has signed an MoU for three years to cook and deliver the lunch and dinner at the civil hospital for all 365 days. It has tied up with Hare Krishna Movement for providing technical support in this regard. The menu has been mutually decided by both parties keeping in view the resolution of the Gujarat government. The menu will consist of full diet, salt free diet, fat-free as well as diabetic diet.

Akshaya Patra was set up in the year 2000 at Bangalore to address the problems of feeding school children. It has covered 5,500 government schools in 19 locations of India. Since 2007, it has been serving government school children through its kitchen in Gandhinagar.

During 2010, it expanded to Vadodara, catering to 2.3 lakh children every day in the country. Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, which is the biggest hospital in Asia, treats around 6 to 6.5 lakh outdoor patients every year, besides admitting around 70,000 patients. On an average, 26,000 surgeries and 6,500 deliveries take place in this hospital annually.

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Eduland Kindergarten pledges support to ISKCON’s The Akshaya Patra Foundation

On the occasion of our first anniversary, Eduland Kindergarten pledges support to The Akshaya Patra Foundation’s “ Mid-Day Meals” or “unlimited food for education” program.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation supports over 200 thousand underprivileged students in Bangalore through their mid-day meals program. We share Askhaya Patra Foundation’s vision and applaud their contribution to children’s nourishment and education.

While the principal objective of Eduland Kindergarten remains providing high-value early childhood care and education programs, we remain steadfast in our role as a responsible corporate citizen. Our small contribution will feed 5 hungry children that would empower them to attend school and succeed in life.

We are delighted to play a small role in this noble endeavour and have pledged to support this program as long as we can.

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DUST OF VRAJA

Vraja is an enchanting village in India known as the eternal land of love where even the dustsparkles withinfinitebeauty, giving ecstasy to everything it touches...
In 1994, shortlyafteragathering with somespiritual musicians traveling through their home town of Cleveland, OhioAcyuta Krishna, and Anthony Grecenukinfused powerfulmantras into the music of their teenage alternative rock band giving birth to "Mantra Fusion Rock". For six years they worked continuously on evolving theirmusicin thestudio,and doing live performances. During that time, they moved to Las Vegas and Seattle to bring their original project to new audiences.They held a vision to share the ancient message of India with modern music as it's vehicle.

By the summer of 2003, Acyuta was magnetically drawn to Maui, Hawaii where he became next door neighbors with Jagadeesh, a well known mantra chanter in the circle of western yogis. One afternoon in their shared plantation home they discovered a forgotten cosmic connection. It turned out that Jagadeesh was one of the musicians that Acyuta and Anthony had been inspired by 10 years ago ! They retold the story of how they passionately sung mantra songs in a hotel room until the other occupants pounded on the door asking them to quit down. Wow, The inspiration of mantra music had come full circle and reunited the two of them on the most remote island on the planet. This was a clear omen that they should form a newband,now called Dust of Vraj.
Late nightjam sessions onthe volcano of Haleakala exploded into a hypnotic fusion of hard rock guitars, trancing mantra vocals, programmed dance beats, and a harmonium dubbed the "space box". Their debut album "Lucky Six" was recorded live in a Japanese style house on the north shore of Maui. It was done in one take, with a few overdubs andthree songs were created on the spot. Dust of Vraj launched this record in Tokyo, and sold over 30,000 c.d.'s in just a few months ! The band lived on Mt. Fuji writing new material whilegaining strength indeepening their meditational practice.
Shortly after a pilgrimage to India they were off to Europe performing at castles, night clubs, festivals, and even on the street ! Now thousands ofinternational c.d. sales were under their belt accompanied bya live concert video shot in Belgium. By 2009 theirdedication scored a 3 month residency at thefamed Pachyderm Studio in Cannon Falls, Minnesota,where Nirvana recorded their finalalbum"In Utero". Bassist Anthony Grecenuk and drummer Michael Drew rejoined with Acyuta and Jagadeesh during the bands recording sessions in studio "A" with engineer Aaron Shannon.
The alchemy of the newly formed Dust of Vraj quickly matured as the four of them rehearsed new material for two weeks. Then they entered the studio to record eight songs during the month of April. Shortly after,female vocals, tabla, and other traditional instruments were recordedon Maui, and in Houston, using their own Remote Studio 108. Finally, the hard to find shenai, sarode, and Indian violin were overdubbed with classical masters in New Delhi, India. Sylvia Massey and Rich Veltrop Mixed the record "Time I Am" at RadioStar Studios in Weed, California. Sylvia Massey said "In over 25 years of music production I've never heard anything like this. I really love this record. Amazing !" Dust of Vraj created "A THING" which picked up the bands momentum to an unstoppable speed.
Dust of Vraj is shaping a new taste amongst music lovers with an original fusion of transcendental sound mixed with popular alternative rock. The enthusiastic message the band delivers is bright and inspiring. The mantras of India are timeless; speaking directly to the soul of the attentive listener. It's asublime sound which spans all generations, and brings an ever fresh sense ofexcitement to the music world.
After listening to the record spiritual revolutionary Ramm Das (Richard Alpert) said, "Dust of Vraj's Loving music will create oneness in the world. It brings me oneness through the fusion of east and west. As a world traveler it brings me to wholeness because I can relate to it as a westerner, and as an easterner."
Reaching beyond the major market's of Europe, U.S.A, and Japan; Dust of Vraj is working hard to touch the rest of the planet such as India, China, Russia, Australia, and South America. Dust of Vraj is a cultural presentation of east meets west in a style that's cutting edge. When the band was asked whats next ? Acyuta replied " We are a vessel for a sacred message that is bound to reach every corner of the planet. So I am also watching where the Great Spirit leads us next."

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Krishna kirtans wonderful song by Devotees across the world

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ISKCON's Vatsalya Program

BANGALORE: ISKCON Sri Radhakrishna Mandir is celebrating women's creative spirit through Vatsalya, a talent research cultural contest at temple premises.The programme, to be held on Saturday and Sunday, is designed exclusively to awaken the dormant talent and nurture it. Sri Chanchalapathi Dasa, VicePresident, ISKCON, Bangalore, has said that Vatsalya is targeted towards working women and housewives."This segment of society, as per our experience, has thirst for cultural activities. We wish to encourage them to participate in this programme. We want to strength the cultural roots of society through this programme. It will convey a message to society about the importance good values at home," said Dasa.The programme provides a platform for women to exhibit their aesthetic sense and subject matter expertise. Music (concerts, instrumental, vocal), dance (classical and folk), painting, cookery, theatre, rangoli, creative designs, calligraphy etc are some of the categories planned to foster creativity in women.As part of the programme, rangoli, embroidery and instrumental music will be held on Saturday in the morning session from 9.30 am to 12.30 pm. Altar decoration, mehendi art, elocution, story telling, creative writing and music concert will be held on Saturday from 1.30 pm to 4.30 pm. The contest is open for women above 20 years.

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Darshana arati at ISKCON Bangalore

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Little Krishna goes big!- The Times Of India

Little Krishna's the latest rockstar on television. And he's now a Nick toon. "He's a prankster, the ideal son, ideal friend, a superhero who fights for good and evil and is a musician as well, says Nina Elavia Jaipuria, SVP & GM Nick India.

The world-class animation, produced wholly in India by Big Animation Studios, will be the channel's first foray into tapping local content.

And if all goes well, the animation that received rave reviews at Cannes, will also see a theatrical release. For Ashish Kulkarni, CEO, Big Animation, and a fan of Disney's Lion King, animation in India has come of age and the next step is to bring Krishna to the big screen, in the next few months.

The 13-part series, currently to be aired on the channel in India and the subcontinent, may be telecast globally too. What works for the epic god is he compelling storyline, which is being used across 13 episodes, apart from being an engaging, endearing character.

The animation took over seven years of research, which was backed by Iskcon. The process began almost nine years ago when Kulkarni met Chanchalapathi Dasa, Vice Chairman, The India Heritage Foundation, who was looking for a production house from the US to help him animate the story. Over the next two years, the two worked together to narrow down to 130 stories, which were whittled down to 27 and finally 13, involving Krishna between the ages of five and nine. The look also took time, with over 60 stylish and cute counterparts of the little god being created, out of which one was chosen.

There were also over 92 descriptions of Krishna's look to contend with, including his blue skin tone, to his curly hair, etc. While Krishna's image had to be consistent with public memory, the production house and channel has managed to experiment with the look of the monsters, of which one is introduced in each standalone episode

The challenges were many. Since production houses were used to being hubs of outsourcing, most pre-production took place abroad. Recalls Kulkarni, "Most of the activities involving Krishna happened outdoors and we realized that his blue skin tone merged with with the blue of the sy and the water. That was a problem initially. We couldn't use fur for his curls, as we used that for the animals as well, so we had to go for something stylised."

He adds, "In India, there was nobody who could give him his jewellery or create cloth, water, fire or a tornado. So, we brought in experienced hands like Jeoffrey Scott, five-time Emmy winner Vincent Edwards, who directed the Spiderman television series to train our staff. Now, we can do everything from moving from the idea, to script to storyboard to taking it to the screen."

As for Nick, viewers can look out for Little Krishna memorabilia, which will include toys, books, DVDs and more!

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Making of Little Krishna Animation Series

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Govinda Sky: Breaking the Hip-Hop Mold

During the many times that he spotted ISKCON devotees chanting in Washington Square Park while growing up in Brooklyn, New York in the late 1960s, Jay Cen could never have imagined that one day he’d be fronting a hip-hop group espousing their teachings.
But they caught his interest. He continued to wonder what they were about when he moved to Boston as a teenager and saw them again at Boston Common. He began to hang around them more, join in the chanting, and purchase Back to Godhead magazines from them.
At home, he pasted the magazine covers on his wall. It was in the midst of the late sixties and early seventies Indian culture explosion, and so sure, this was hip. But it was more than that. Jay felt something stirring in his soul. But for years, he didn’t follow through with it.
“One of my biggest regrets is that if I had been more assertive in my teens, I could have actually met Srila Prabhupada—I could have been at 26 2nd Ave, sitting five feet away from him,” he says now. “But I guess that just wasn’t the way it was supposed to happen. Krishna had a different plan for me.”
Instead, Jay—who was the son of a popular Boston jazz DJ and always had music in his blood—threw himself into music and started a punk rock band called the Deziners with his friend Eddie Kane.
It wasn’t until many years later, in 1995, that the thought suddenly crossed Jay’s mind: “I wonder where the Hare Krishna devotees are these days?” It seemed like a random thought, but only two days later, a devotee walked into the healthfood store where he worked.

The devotee must have been taken by surprise when the moment he walked in the shop clerk suddenly yelled, “Hey!” Where have you guys been?” But he pulled himself together quickly enough and handed Jay a card inviting him to the local Boston temple. Jay visited, and one year later, he became an ISKCON devotee.
In 2006, Jay—now Jaya Madhava Dasa— was visiting his old friend Eddie, when he noticed that Eddie’s fourteen-year-old stepson Trevor had a little recording studio, and was creating beats in it.
“Hey, do you wanna make a track with me?” Trevor asked one day.
“Sure,” said Jaya Madhava.
The song that resulted, “Look to the East,” was a kind of “Eastern philosophy primer” for the yoga community. On it, Jaya Madhava delivers the messages of Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, Moses, and Gandhi.
Excited by the track, he suggested to Eddie and Trevor that they start a transcendental Hip-Hop group, and Govinda Sky was born.
Roles were assigned naturally, with Jaya Madhava singing all the choruses and writing the devotional lyrics, Trevor Buckingham—or T-Buck—producing and rapping, and his dad Eddie adding an element generally unheard of in hip-hop—guitar solos.
“They were completely open-minded to my Krishna-focused lyrics,” Jaya Madhava says. “It was something new to them, but they loved it. And they were learning, too—especially Trevor, who was 14 when we started and is now nearly 18. He learned so much about Vaishnavism and Hinduism that he was even getting As on tests about other religions in school!”

Govinda Sky spent a lot of time carefully fashioning their songs—Jaya Madhava is a perfectionist—and it took a year for them to amass enough for their first album. But at last Surrender was released independently in November 2007, through Itunes and Amazon.com.
“We’re the rare Vaishnava act in what’s called positive hip-hop, a genre dominated by Christian groups,” Jaya Madhava says. “Our message is a spiritual one, very different from what you usually hear in commercial hip-hop music—and you won’t find any bad language, misogyny, or gun sound effects on our album!”
Govinda Sky feel some fraternity with the “Krishnacore” bands of the 1990s, such as Shelter and 108, and consider themselves something of a hip-hop straightedge band. “We’re especially reaching out to the young people, our future leaders,” says Jaya Madhava. “In our humble way, we’re trying to steer them away from the materialism that 99% of the hip-hop generation is bent on.”
Govinda Sky has received a lot of positive response for their album Surrender, especially from the yoga community.
The group perform to small audiences of about thirty people at yoga studios around the Boston area. Their shows start off with a traditional kirtan, which, like the band, are a family affair—Chatamayi Dasi, a disciple of Bhakti Tirtha Swami whose son Cole Chadwick has recently become Govinda Sky’s new live drummer, plays the harmonium. Her husband Bhakta Rick plays the mridanga, Jaya Madhava sings, Eddie plays guitar, and Cole plays the African drum.
“Then we go into our hip-hop songs. We try to bring some real positive Vedic energy,” Jaya Madhava says. “A lot of our choruses are in Sanskrit, and sometimes we’ll pass out the words so that people can chant along to them. And unlike 99% of hip-hop groups, we don’t just use a playback CD—we also usually have live mridanga and tabla, kartals, guitar, and now a full drum kit. So that sets us apart from other acts and brings more energy to our set.”

After the shows, many people approach Govinda Sky to ask, ‘Hey, where’s the nearest temple?’ And many are seen at the next Sunday Feast at ISKCON Boston. “We don’t do anything in a heavy-handed way,” Jaya Madhava says. “We just present our Krishna conscious music, and if people like it, they’ll follow through by searching out the nearest temple or listening to other kirtan bands.”
Govinda Sky are also popular at ISKCON festivals, such as last year’s Boston Ratha Yatra festival, with African ISKCON sannyasi Bhakti Vasudeva Swami saying he was “So happy to see that someone was making this kind of Krishna conscious urban music.”
With MC T-Buck busy performing with reggae group Dead Fish, and the rest of the band having a hectic summer, it’s taken Govinda Sky a while to get around to their second album. But they have recently lined up six tracks—with more on the way—and are due to start recording in the fall.
“The new album will be called Into the Ether,” Jaya Madhava says. “The title track is subtitled ‘The Story of Mirabai,’ and is about the female saint who devoted her life to Krishna. Hari Om She Said is about leaving a life of Maya, or illusion, and trying to find yourself. Dance Shiva Dance is a great dance number about the Lord of destruction.”
The album will also feature Gauranga-ji, Jagannath Poetry Slam, and Gita, which has in-depth lyrics about the famous sacred book and its modern teacher, Srila Prabhupada. “Prabhupada is such an inspiration to me,” Jaya Madhava says. “I’ve become a student of him through his books, and have also read the entire Prabhupada Lilamrita and all the other books about his life and travels. Even though I never got to meet him in person, I feel like I know him so well.”

Into the Ether will also touch on social and political subjects in tracks such as “Being Muslim is Not A Crime”—which is Jaya Madhava’s response to the religious bigotry and ‘Islamophobia’ in today’s world—and ‘Let the Animals Keep Their Coats’ an irresistibly catchy reggae track protesting the fur industry.
“Our message has always been one of tolerance—tolerance of all people, all races, all religions,” Jaya Madhava says. “That, delivered along with Krishna consciousness and the Holy Name, is our main goal.”
Govinda Sky will be touring their album locally next year, with hopes to ascend a bigger stage in the future. “People are always asking us, ‘When are you coming to Australia? When are you coming to Mexico?’ and we’d love to,” Jaya Madhava says. “But we just don’t have the capital.”
“We’re not in this for the money, we’re in this to spread spirituality,” he clarifies, but admits: “But if some travel expenses were covered and we had better management than just me, we might be able to do it more.”
He grins. “It’s just so much fun to do,” he says. “It’s a labor of love.”

From: http://news.iskcon.org/node/3138/2010-09-24/govinda_sky_breaking_the_hip_hop_mold#ixzz18XZ6lVY9

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