नूपुर की किस्सागोई

  There is a tradition of offering 56 bhog to Lord Krishna. 56 bhog means 56 types of food items. This Bhog is offered on the occasion of Govardhan pooja or Annakut pooja. The special pooja is performed on the 4th day of the 5-day-long Diwali festival. When I was a kid the decoration of 56 food items always astonished me. As I grew up and become a teen, I was always wondered why the number of food items is 56? It can be any number. Many numbers are often considered auspicious like 7, 9, 21, 51, 101, 108, etc. I asked elders but never get any satisfactory answers. One day I got the answer while reading a kid’s storybook.  There is a story behind every festival, so this festival is not an exception. It has a background story too.  It is said that the people of Vrindavan had a tradition to offer special pooja and yagna to Indra, the god of rains. This pooja was a gesture of gratitude for the rain provided by lord Indra. When the villagers of Vrindavan were preparing...