Srila Prabhupada sent Sudama Swami to the kitchen to cook some samosas.
Sudama, Jayapataka, and Sridhara Swamis and other devotees met us at the airport.
Rather than going straight to the temple, Prabhupada first went to inspect a flat he is thinking of purchasing for his former family members. Then he traveled to the temple in our own bus.
ISKCON Calcutta is situated in a large, old, two-story semidetached building built during the time of the British Raj in what was once the European quarter. Although at one time it was rather impressive architecturally, with an arched entrance and an upper veranda adorned with large, capped columns, it has become quite dilapidated over the years. ISKCON occupies only the top floor on one side.
The temple overlooks some public gardens and a lake bordering Albert Road. At times the devotees have to bathe in the lake because there often is no water.
Prabhupada climbed the wide interior stairway and, removing his shoes, entered the only large room in the place, now converted into a temple room. He offered his obeisances to the presiding Deities Sri Sri Radha-Govinda and Their Lordships Jagannatha, Balarama and Subhadra.
Then, without giving an arrival speech, he went out along the wide front veranda to his room at the end. This room is kept exclusively for his use, but the devotees use the small adjoining bathroom when he is away.
Overall, the building is not impressive, but Prabhupada wants to keep it because its location is close to the central business district.
I looked through the back rooms for somewhere to stay, without success. There are only a few cramped rooms, allocated for Deity paraphernalia, the brahmacari asrama, some storage facilities for books, and an access to the roof.
I noticed that the cooking is done on coal-fired buckets on a small porch in the rear, which accounts for the soot and grime covering everything in the area. There is so little extra space that Tamal Krishna Maharaja decided to set up an office right outside Prabhupada's door on the veranda, while I moved into the Life Membership room at the opposite end.
Prabhupada is not at all pleased with the current state of affairs, for the standard of the temple management has deteriorated. Reports have been submitted that many Life Members are upset with the state of things and in their dealings with the temple president, Bhagavat dasa. He only recently replaced the long standing president, Gargamuni Swami, but is unable to cope very well with the service. Sridhara Swami from Bombay is here now and has been requested to take over the responsibility; but he also is not keen on management.
Prabhupada settled in quickly, immediately engaging Jayapataka and Sudama Swamis in conversation about our Mayapur center. It sounds as if everything is developing nicely there. Plans are being drawn up for a temple some 350 feet in height, and Prabhupada instructed Jayapataka to buy more land. The devotees have purchased an ocean-going boat capable of sailing to Orissa and intend to install Gaura-Nitai Deities on board.
Jayapataka reported that a small Bengali book titled Gitar-gana, which Srila Prabhupada wrote before going to the West in 1965, is now in print and selling many copies. Containing all the Gita verses in Bengali prose, it was written in such a way that no one could misinterpret the meaning. Prabhupada was very pleased to hear that all the Mayapur gurukula children are studying it and learning to chant the verses. Smiling, he recalled how his Godbrothers used to call him kavi, "poet," and that even at school he would write English verse.
Halfway through the conversation Srila Prabhupada sent Sudama Swami to the kitchen to cook some samosas. He also told him how to make a quick chutney from chopped tomatoes, green chili, and lemon juice. Sudama did it all very expertly.
Sudama Maharaja has only recently returned after falling away from his spiritual practices for some time. When he left the room, Prabhupada, obviously pleased with his eagerness to serve, said that he was "a nice boy" who had been misled. He was exceedingly happy to see him back and enthusiastically engaging in devotional service.
Reference: Transcendental Diary Volume 1 by Hari Sauri Dasa
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