PARADE WITH THE ARTISTS

Saturday, April 29th, 2023

Oberlin, Ohio

Oberlin is a college town that specializes in the liberal arts. For eleven years or so, Krishna devotees have participated in this community’s downtown parade by adding the iconic chariot of Jagannatha to the procession, and the public is rather impressed. It is not just the towering mobile temple look that captivates and draws people to this chariot, but it’s the happy folks that sing and dance while it is being pulled down the street. And to top it off, there is free food (prasadam) offered to the public. This includes the two thousand tofu ‘nuggets’ as cook, Agnihotra, calls them. They are delicious.

While spring has now its foothold with blossoms, birds, and smells, Oberlin is a simply celebrating its own glorious graduation time. And for me, it was just great to reunite with the children of Prabhupada, the very person who established Chariot Festivals in the western hemisphere, starting with San Francisco in 1967, the Summer of Love, as they say.

My hosts in the Cleveland area are Kaustubha and Tulasi Maharani, and their young son, Kapila. They treated me with not only the trip to Oberlin, but to Lakewood Park, the area west of Cleveland where I trekked in 2015 as a segment of my USA walk. This park is outstanding – just well maintained. It is a major attraction for those who love watching the sunset. I took full advantage of chanting my gayatri mantra, and the spot overlooking one of North America’s Great Lakes. From parade to park, that was our day.

MAY THE SOURCE BE WITH YOU!

4 km