A visit to Kolkata the place where our beloved Srila Prabhupada appeared (2018) (Album with photos)
Kolkata, known as the City of Joy, is the capital city of West Bengal. Standing on the eastern bank of mother Ganga (Hoogly river), the city also prides in being the second largest city of India. This also happens to be the place where our beloved Srila Prabhupada appeared. Long known as the Cultural Capital of India, the city continues to spawn generations of poets, writers and Nobel Prize winners. Kolkata (former Calcutta) served as the capital of British-held territories in India until 1911. It was also one of the major centers of the Indian independence movement. The City is filled with colonial gems: Victorian buildings, sprawling gardens and historical institutions. Mostly known for it’s sweets, especially Roshogolla, the city is also famous for it’s own Bengali cuisine.
Our beloved Srila Prabhupada met his spiritual master, Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur in Ultadanga (northern part of the city) and received the instruction to spread Gaudiya Vaishnavism throughout the world on his first meeting. At the age of 69 he left India from here at Khidirpore dock and set out for the West to spread the Holy name of Krishna.
Following the establishment of temples and centers in the United States and Europe, Srila Prabhupada returned to India in 1971 and the following year he opened the first ISKCON temple of India in Kolkata and established the worship of Sri Sri Radha Govinda dev, Sriman Mahaprabhu and Sri Jagannath Baladev Subhadra Maharani. We spent a wonderful time having Bhagavat katha in the temple. Then we set out to explore the city, see the places related to Srila Prabhupada which included his divine birthplace and nearly 200-year-old Deity of Sri Radha Govindjiu in Mullick Bari, where Srila Prabhupada did Rathyatra as a child. We also crossed Hoogly River and went to Howrah to see the 250-year-old Great Banyan Tree in the AJC Bose Indian Botanical Garden, which homes extremely rare plants and trees. Love it or hate it, you definitely won’t forget the City of Joy.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/mjM6av