KOLKATA: The place where Abhay Charan De — who later became the globally renowned spiritual leader Srila Prabhupada — was born, has finally been acquired by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon).
The 125th birth anniversary celebrations of Prabhupada began here on Wednesday as chief minister Mamata Banerjee inaugurated the newly acquired space virtually from Panagarh.
The original house is no longer there because small hutments had come up in its place, but the 150-year-old jackfruit tree that shaded the house still stands. Iskcon had been trying acquire the property for 43 years and has finally been able to rehabilitate the 16 families that had been living there for generations after maternal uncles of Prabhupada had sold the place to them in the 1920s.
This 4-cottah space has been turned into a spiritual park. An imprint of Prabhupada’s footprint has been engraved on stone below the jackfruit tree that will be the centre of attraction of the spiritual park. “Prabhupada was born here on September 1, 1896. It was quite a feat acquiring 63, Tollygunj Road, which we have now converted into a peaceful spiritual space,” said vice president of Iskcon here, Radharaman Das.
“As a spirited young man, he naturally turned towards the freedom movement. He was inspired by both Mahatma Gandhi and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose,” Das said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually released a commemorative coin on Prabhupada on Wednesday to celebrate the occasion.
