The Birla Temple at Kolkata |
It was the near end of the Hindu month of Sawan when I was with my family at Kolkata but there was no rain for two days (for which Sawan is known), cloudy sky but a hot day. It was around 1:00 PM when we had the spare time for rest of the day. We decided to visit some places in Kolkata. Since at our last trip we had visited Kali Temple at Kalighat, Dakshineshwar Kali Mandir and Belur Math it was finalized that we will go to the famous Birla Mandir and the ISKON temple. I tried to book an Ola cab but it showed about 18 minutes away from our New Town area hotel. The hotel staff suggested walking up to the main road (which is called Biswa Bangla Sarani) from where all types of communication were available. It was a 200 m walk and we walked up there in the hot day. Just when we reached there we saw a yellow cab. It came to my mind that some people call it a part of Kolkata's culture so why not take a ride in it. When we moved into it we realized that it was a mistake. It was even hotter inside because they do not have A/C. The old Ambassador car was lacking in cleanliness. Anyways we bore and reached Birla Mandir at about 1:50 PM. Then we realized another mistake of not checking the Temple timings. The temple was closed and was to reopen at 4:30 PM. We had still more than two and a half hours to spend. After a search on the Google map, we found that there was an eating place nearby and it was Haldiram's Food City. It was at a walkable distance. We saw that it was a big building. On the ground and the first floor, there were food courts. We decided to take lunch but for that, we needed a restaurant which was on the 2nd floor named Teekha. It was a good place with a big hall. After seeing the menu we decided to take "Thali" with a number of items in it. They took some time to serve our "Thalis" and we took our time to finish it. Even after we finished our lunch we had more than one and a half hour to spend. So we decided to visit ISKCON first.
ISKCON temple Darshan at Kolkata
When we reached ISKCON, Kolkata we found that it did not look like a usual temple. It was in a general building with a door on the right when you face it. Most of the front was used for ISKCON's sweetshop and restaurant. There was some open space in front of the sweetshop. On the right, there was a fireplace with a lot of wood stacked.
The Sweet Shop at ISKCON, Kolkata
I asked the guard near the entrance if it was the main entrance and he replied with affirmation. He asked us to put off the shoes at the nearby shoe-stand on the footpath. We did so and entered the temple. The door opened into a corridor. Through it, we reached a staircase which took us to the reception on the first floor. On the right is the entrance gate to the hall of the Radha-Govind temple. On both sides of the entrance gate, there are two life-size statues of gatekeepers (Guards) of Baikunth (Vishnu's Lok) whose names are Jai and Vijay.
Fireplace near the Sweet Shop
ISKCON, Kolkata
The life-size statue of one of the gatekeepers of Baikunth,
whose name is Jai.
ISKCON, Kolkata
whose name is Jai.
At that time this gate was closed and we entered the temple hall through another gate behind the reception. Devotees were sitting on the floor waiting for the curtain to be removed and the Darshan of the Radha-Govind be available. We too sat on the floor. About ten women were making garlands for the God in the hall. Ten minutes later the curtain slid and we got darshans of Radha-Govind and Jagannath Ji (Krishna, Subhadra and Balram statues like in Jagannathpuri).
Devotees making flower garlands at ISKCON, Kolkata
and the statue of Srila Prabhupada
and the statue of Srila Prabhupada
A priest worshipped with incense sticks and flowers & Tulsi. then fanned with a "Chanwar" and blew a conch shell (Shankh). Tulsi and flowers were placed nearby to be taken by the devotees. Taking pictures were allowed and devotees snapped pics of beautiful statues. On the opposite of the statues, there is a statue of Swami Prabhupada the founder of the society. The ISKCON, Kolkata temple is not as gorgeous as at Ahamadabad but the statues and ambiance are great. It is also important because it is the birthplace of Srila Prabhupada.
(ISKON Tulsi mala at Amazon ISKON books at Amazon)
(Flipkart - Beautiful Religious Idols - Religious & Festive Decor)
The entrance gate of Birla Mandir, Kolkata |
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