Siliguri, by storm

During the month of November Srila Gurudev had talked a lot about sending a preaching party to Siliguri before his Appearance Day to strengthen our newly opened Math there. On November 30th a party of three devotees left Calcutta, to spend a few days in Nabadwip before heading further north to Siliguri, which is an overnight train ride from Nabadwip. In Nabadwip two others joined the preaching party and on December 2nd we proceeded to Siliguri.

Siliguri is a town in the north of Bengal, situated at the foot of the foothills of the Himalayas. It is very close to Nepal, Bangladesh and China. It is peaceful and quiet compared to Calcutta and other towns futher south. The air is clean as there isn't much pollution from cars and industry and often a stream of clear mountain air blows from the Himalayas and finds its way over the plane where Siliguri is situated. During this time of year, most mornings one can get a view of Himalayan peaks, and due to the fresh mountain air the fruits and vegetables, plant life and even the people look and feel healthier than in other areas of India.

On our first night we were surprised to see that so many local people attended our programme. Sripad Tirtha Maharaj spoke and sang beautifully every night and Jagadananda Prabhu surprised and inspired everyone with his powerful kirttans, both in the temple and outside in town. Ananda Vigraha Prabhu delivered a lecture one night that held everyone in rapt attention and Saumya Shyam Prabhu was a big inspiration for all of us with the various services he did.

When we returned to Calcutta and reported our activities to Srila Gurudev, he was very happy to hear all our news and after hearing and discussing with us for over an hour, he requested Sripad Tirtha Maharaj to return there later in the month to help firmly establish our Math there.

The following pictures give one an impression of the Siliguri Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math and some of the activities we tried to please Srila Gurudev with there. We hope our effort finds its way into his big heart and he will be pleased with our service and bless us with even more service.