Sri Sri Guru-Gaurangau Jayatah!

17th World Tour of Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj

Singapore Report by Prabhu Chidananda

Singapore was glorious. The devotees under Vijay Krishna Prabhu's leadership rented a bungalow near the beach where Srila Govinda Maharaj stayed along with some of the other devotees.

The highlight of the programme was Srila Maharaj's trip to the "Brindavan Restaurant" opened by the devotees just a year ago during his last Singapore visit. The restaurant has quickly become very successful and many people come to savour the clean and friendly atmosphere.

The devotees specialise in serving Indian food although they also have a lot of Malaysian and Chinese dishes. Srila Govinda Maharaj commented the food had a special flavour due to the expert use of spices by Rajeswari Devi Dasi. It is very tasty but a bit on the spicy side for us Westerners, though clearly the Indians and Singaporeans love it.

The restaurant opens at noon and is always full. The local working people come as it is in a downtown central business area. They charge a fixed price of a very reasonable Singapore $5.50 for all you can eat. Srila Maharaj noted that when the people went back for seconds they always went for the expensive items! He also said it was a good place for preaching. In addition many devotees from different missions come and our devotees are always friendly and affectionate to them and everyone. They don't charge the sannyasis and Guru's of different groups. The restaurant not only rates highly with the devotees, it also has an "A" rating from the city for cleanliness.

There was a public programme at the Sri Muneeswaran Temple where Srila Maharaj spoke. As always he enlivened all the devotees and everyone present. He met with many new guests there.

During Srila Govinda Maharaj's stay in Singapore there were several initiations. Fifteen devotees came from Malaysia for Srila Govinda Maharaj's holy darshan. They also honoured Prasadam with Srila Maharaj at the restaurant and some stayed on to see Srila Gurudev off on his flight. At Srila Maharaj's departing lecture, he urged Vijay Krishna Prabhu to try and get a chanting hall for regular meetings. He stressed this, and urged the devotees to intensify their search -- and succeed!

The flight that followed from Singapore was too long. Srila Govinda Maharaj tolerated it, probably better than us younger ones, and we made it to another paradise, Hawaii.

-Chidananda Das
Writing from Hawaii
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N.B. If you live in Singapore or are visiting, the address of the devotees' restaurant is:

Brindavan Restaurant,
28 Madras Street,
Madras Hotel,
Singapore 208422

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