New Delhi, Aug 14 - Some wore masks, while others covered their faces with handkerchiefs. Devotees were mostly undeterred by the swine flu scare and lined up in various temples across the capital to pay their obeisance to Lord Krishna on the occasion of Janmashtami Friday morning.

The birthday of one of the most popular Hindu gods, Krishna, Janmashtami celebrations are full of colour -- what with different sweets being prepared at homes and distributed in the temples, ornate pujas being organised, devotional songs being sung and merry making.

At the ISKCON temple for instance, a special kind of delicacy has been prepared in bulk for all the devotees.

'We prepare a special kind of sweet on Janmashtami. It's like a samosa (patty) in which khoya, butter, raisins and cardamom are used as filling. This is offered to Lord Krishna and distributed amongst his devotees,' a priest of the ISKCON temple said.

Decked in flowers and lights which will illuminate the temple at night -- since people throng the temples near midnight when Krishna is believed to have been born -- the celebratory mood is quite apparent in religious places.

Outside the Lakshmi Narayan Mandir -- popularly called Birla Mandir -- dedicated to the cowherd god, tents are being set up to cater to hundreds of devotees who will queue up long before sunrise.