Gita Mela is an event organized by ISKCON Mayapur dedicated solely for interacting with the tourists. A winter festival that is held from December to January in Mayapur, West Bengal, India, focuses on providing guests an insight into the importance of the Bhagavad Gita.
Also called the big ‘fair’ of knowledge, the guests are allowed inside the Gita Mela Campus to see big dioramas explaining the Bhagavad Gita’s main teachings, they attend the question and answer session, buy spiritual books from the store, get to know the BBT, watch a video presentation about ISKCON around the world, have japa session, and there is kids play area in the gaming section.
As they walk through, the stage lures their attention towards performances given by devotees of ISKCON and entertainment throughout the day. Book stalls and dioramas co exist on two opposite sides of the premises. On one side, a sankirtan gift shop, a separate book stall, a Gita study course, and a harinam japa counter to engage, while the other side display a youth forum, a kids’ corner, a Gita slide show, a Gita expo, and a quite popular this year, a face painting booth.
The marketplace of the Holy Name also had dioramas featuring important lessons given by Lord Krishna, illuminating the darkness of the ignorant in the process. The lessons included quotes from the scriptures of Srimad BG chapters - 4.1, 7.62, 2.22, 6.38.
An other objective was to distribute Bhagavad Gitas, the devotees were constantly engaged in preaching for the duration of this event. A preacher on foot would distribute 20-25 big books on a good day and 10-15 on other days. All stalls included would deliver around 100-120 Gitas and 50-80 small books per day.
The Gita Mela grows every year. The event attracts thousands of guests to ISKCON Mayapur for 15 days, and potentially changes their lives.
Source: https://iskconnews.org/gita-mela-draws-thousands-of-tourists-to-mayapur,7229/
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