We had two pujas with Shri Mataji in Yamunanagar, in the foothills of the Himalayas. The first was performed in Emerlin College, where I was educated. That was a Saraswati Puja, in 1992. We were thrilled, because a college is the abode of the Goddess Saraswati and we were having sakshat Saraswati Puja. The next year Shri Mataji came again and we had Shri Krishna Puja. That was performed on the banks of the Yamuna River, at a place almost where the Yamuna comes out of the hills and touches the plains. I remember that the decorations for that puja were all dark blue – Krishna’s colours.
The Yamuna River is where Shri Krishna played, and where He killed the big snake as a child. When He was born in Mathura, He was taken across the Yamuna in the monsoon by his adopted father Nanda to Gokul, where He was brought up. The story goes that the river was keen to touch Shri Krishna’s Feet, and that was why it was rising all the time. Shri Krishna, as a new born child, knew His father would be put to trouble, so He put one foot down, and the moment His foot touched the water it just went down again.
GK Datta