If the Dahi Handi festival has you curious about the life story of Krishna, log on to Detroit-based author and Indophile Stephen Knapp's Krishna darshan art gallery, where you can also download photos and paintings of the deity sourced from around the world
If the Dahi Handi festival has you curious about the life story of Krishna, log on to Detroit-based author and Indophile Stephen Knapp's Krishna darshan art gallery, where you can also download photos and paintings of the deity sourced from around the world
Stephen Knapp aka Sri Nandananandana Dasa first chanced upon the Bhagvad Gita in 1971.
"I was seeking deeper levels of spiritual knowledge and had read the Bible and Koran, as well as tomes on Judaism, Egyptology, Buddhism and even occultism. When I finally read the Gita, I knew I had found what I was looking for," he writes in an email interview.
He would later go on to join ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness), give lectures and write books on spirituality, Vedic culture and Eastern philosophy. 
The Krishna deity that now sits in a temple in Udaipur
The Detroit-based Knapp has been visiting India every year since 1987 and claims that he is familiar with every nook and cranny of the country, except for the North East.
"I click thousands of photos of temples, festivals, holy places, and the locals, each time I visit," says Knapp.
In 1998, he started his website, so that people could check out his photographs and videos, and download his e-books for free.
"I have been collecting prints for several years, and thought of adding some of them to the website," he explains.
Over time, he added pictures, miniatures, and even photos to the Krishna Darshan Art Gallery, which has around 280 images of Lord Krishna from places as far-flung as Vrindavana in Uttar Pradesh to Durban in South Africa and Los Angeles in the US. Each image also includes a brief explanation about what makes them unique.
The images depict Krishna in various poses: as a statue reclining near a pond, bedecked in an outfit made from flowers, standing on top a Sankirtana bus to Pensylvania, and a rare image of Kshira Chora Gopinatha deity of Puri, who is believed to have hid in a cup of kheer or rice pudding.
The site includes miniature paintings of Radha looking at Krishna's face in the mirror, and another adorning her hair with flowers. The image of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu deep in trance, while chanting God's name is another image worthy of special mention.
Though Krishna is often labelled a prankster, his devotees consider the underlying message behind the stories, which is about surrendering to him and staying away from Maya (attachment in the form of butter and the clothes that he stole). That is also why Knapp considers the primary purpose of these images is to help devotees meditate on the numerous forms of God.
"People may then go on to read my books, which explore the topic in greater depth," he says.
Knapp says that the site gets roughly 4,000 visitors and over 15,000 hits everyday. "At first, I thought the audience would comprise mainly of Westerners, but statistics show that 60 to 70 per cent of visitors to the site are actually from India," he observes.
While Knapp gets tonnes of emails he feels especially encouraged whenever "an Indian tells me they are finding out more about their culture from an American than from their parents."
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