Originally published September 4, 2007 at 12:00 AM | Page modified September 14, 2007 at 2:24 PM
Corrected version
Capturing spirit of Indian culture
Vital Karra traveled for two days to reach his first Kumbh Mela festival in Allahabad, India, in 1989. Like millions of others who make...
Seattle Times staff reporter
CHRIS JOSEPH TAYLOR / THE SEATTLE TIMES
From right, Siddeshwari Dasi and Krishna Priya make the final touches to a deity, one of seven brought into a tent at the Kumbha Mela Festival of India at Marymoor Park in Redmond on Monday afternoon. The three-day festival also featured a re-creation of India's holy city Vrindavan.
Vital Karra traveled for two days to reach his first Kumbh Mela festival in Allahabad, India, in 1989. Like millions of others who make the pilgrimage to the Hindu festival every 12 years, Karra traveled thousands of miles on train and foot to reach the six-week-long gathering.
Now a software consultant living in Bellevue, Karra didn't have to go far Monday to taste and feel the experience again. The Kumbha Mela Festival of India was right next door in Redmond.
(The spelling of "Kumbha" with an "a" reflects Western pronunciation, and is used interchangeably with the original spelling.)
"It's a once-in-a-lifetime event," said Karra, who came to the festival with his two sons. "The Marymoor Park event captures the spirit of India's biggest festival."
The three-day event paid homage to the centuries-old Indian spiritual festival attended by as many as 70 million Hindus.
Visitors were welcomed by devotees of the Hindu faith and surrounded by the fragrant smells of traditional foods and sounds of live Indian music.
Organizers estimate 10,000 attended the free event, which began Saturday. The festival was moved to Marymoor Park to make it more accessible to the Eastside's growing Indian population, said Naresh Bhatt, one of the festival's organizers and executive director of the Vedic Cultural Center of Sammamish.
Some 22,000 Indians live in Washington, and the majority of those live on the Eastside, he said.
The festival, formerly known as the Festival of India at Alki Beach, took on a new twist this year, offering more entertainment and interactive booths than in the past.
The event is meant to promote the new Vedic Cultural Center under construction since May. The $4.5 million project is slated for completion early next year and will include a library, a museum and classrooms for art, drama and music courses.
The 12,200-square-foot center is being built at 228th Ave. S.E. in Sammamish, across from the City Hall.
Like Karra, many of those who attended the festival were born in India and have settled in the Seattle area for work. Others flocked to the Eastside park for a day in the sun or to get a glimpse of Indian culture and religion.
![]()
Callie Graupensperger, a Seattle massage therapist, said the event was perfect for "learning more about" the culture of a growing segment of her client base.
New this year was Vrindavan Village, a reconstruction of the holy city where Hindus believe the god Krishna was born. Guides, many of whom grew up in India, provided tours of more than a dozen tents depicting scenes from Krishna's life.
"We wanted to have a different twist than previous years," Bhatt said. "We wanted it to become a more mainstream event because we want to be part of this community."
For many who attended the festival's last day Monday, this was an opportunity to blend education and fun.
Karra brought his sons, Srikar, 6, and Saivibhu, 2, for the second day in a row. He has taken the boys to visit India, but experiencing their culture where they live is important too, Karra said.
"I don't want them to forget it growing up in this country," he said.
Karen Johnson: 253-234-8605 or karenjohnson@seattletimes.com
Information in this story originally published on September 4, 2007was corrected on September 14, 2007. In the story Tuesday about the Kumbha Mela Festival of India, Naresh Bhatt was incorrectly referred to on second reference as "she."
Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company
UPDATE - 09:46 AM
Exxon Mobil wins ruling in Alaska oil spill case
NEW - 7:51 AM
Longview man says he was tortured with hot knife
Longview man says he was tortured with hot knife
Longview mill spills bleach into Columbia River
NEW - 8:00 AM
More extensive TSA searches in Sea-Tac Airport rattle some travelers

nwautos
Turismo upgrade "Gran Turismo 5: XL Edition" for PlayStation 3 has features such as new car-tuning settings, new NASCAR vehicles, better replay video...
Post a comment
- Lakewood cop accused of embezzling $150K meant for slain officers' families
- 3 big health insurers stockpile $2.4 billion as rates keep rising
- Agency set to investigate handling of 911 call about Josh Powell
- Quick decisions: How Washington hired its new football staff
- Historic day for gay marriage as another fight looms
- Justin Wilcox's versatile defensive style is the right fit for Huskies | Jerry Brewer
- Social worker recounts minutes before Powell fire
- It's Terrence Time: Enigmatic Ross leads Huskies
- $25B settlement reached over foreclosure abuses
- Club promoter convicted in brutal 2010 murder of Des Moines prostitute
- Gay-marriage bill passes House, awaits Gregoire's signature
477 - Historic day for gay marriage as another fight looming
366 - Wanted in Seattle classrooms: more teachers of color
340 - 3 big health insurers stockpile $2.4 billion as rates keep rising
244 - Source: NY, California to sign mortgage settlement
232 - Council members get briefing on arena proposal, minus details
201 - AP Source: Obama to change birth control rule
187 - Oregon live game thread
155 - Pac-12 picks ... including the UW game
140 - Worker: Josh Powell told son he had 'surprise'
108
- Wanted in Seattle classrooms: more teachers of color
- State Medicaid program to stop paying for unneeded ER visits
- 3 big health insurers stockpile $2.4 billion as rates keep rising
- Economy, blogs give survivalists new reason to look to Northwest
- State's share of mortgage settlement: $648 million
- One man's audacious pursuit of sailing history
- Darren Berg gets 18-year sentence for Ponzi scheme
- Bellevue College adds a third bachelor's degree program
- $25B settlement reached over foreclosure abuses
- 'Gauguin and Polynesia': dazzling mix-and-match | Art review











