Burmese Buddhist Temple...

The only type of its kind i.e. Burmese Buddhist Temple is present in North Kolkata. What intrigued me was the fact that most of my Kolkata-born friends were not aware of it but it was mentioned in "The Glass Palace" by Amitav Ghosh. More than the size of the construction, I was drawn more to the exclusiveness.

The entrance to the prayer hall

It is located bang opposite the Central Metro station besides a large statue of Maharan Pratap. I do not remember coming across another statue / bust of Maharana Pratap; but that is another story. 

Maharana Pratap in all his glory

The main prayer hall is located on the second floor of a non-descript building. It may seem closed for a normal person but it is open everyday from morning to evening. The structure is locked but one can get access by contacting / requesting the vendor exactly at the entrance of the building. 

A far-away shot

The complete address

The left side wall

The main hall and the front view

Found an attractive artificial flower

Check out the uniqueness in the design

The entrance to the temple

An enlarged picture of the founder; his face is visible on the entrance pic also

U San Min founded the Burmese Buddhist temple in 1928. His photograph (an old one) adores the entrance. To the left (at the entrance itself) are the names of the previous priests.

Inside the sanctum

In the main hall is a large statue of seated Buddha. It is probably made of white marble.  A glass covering prevents perfect photography yet the caricature and design is appreciation-worthy. The throne on the head of the Enlightened One clearly indicates the Burmese design. The adornings over the statue and the around clearly brings in the Burmese element. There is a large map of Burma with its various states on the right wall. It also carries a picture of high-government official from Burma discussing some things with the Chief Priest. 24 Paccayas are also explained in great details on the right wall. 

The left wall (previous priests), the main Buddha is also partially visible

The left wall has clear an legible photographs of the previous priests. 

The previous priests

The Chief Priest Ashin Thareinda informs  that earlier many Burmese students used to come and stay out there in the house but nowadays, the house is used for temporary stay by Burmese who reach Kolkata for onward journey to other Buddhist places in India.

The Right hand side wall  of the main room

As has been my style, please find attached the last picture with my accomplice; the junior one was not clicked. To be honest, I took so many pictures of the small room that I had no guts to spend any more time on any new topic.

My accomplice

St. Thomas ... 19 July 2015

Though Park Street has been one of our family's most visited street / location of Kolkata, every such visit had always missed the entry to one of the oldest churches of Kolkata i.e. St. Thomas Church. An imposing building in itself, it is in Middleton Street exactly in the middle of Park Street and Camac Street. The size and the placement of it (with trees, the parish and a parking space) makes it difficult to be consumed in a single photography frame.

The front view; it stands imposing for its age.

As per Wikepedia, the age is 173 years which makes the year of making as 1842. I had the distinct privilege of interacting with Fr. Mervy Carapiet who seemed to be an encyclopedia on Theosophy / Theology. He has travelled extensively across the globe holding various responsibilities of his Order. He has been to the exact place where Jesus walked in Jerusalem and was also taken to the gallows. The interaction with him made the visit less monotonous as it normally happens. Though very senior, he is active on the net. He maintains 3 blogs and regularly updates them. They are http://mervyncarapiet.blogspot.com, http://mervcarie.blogspot.com and http://mervmoral.blogspot.com. He also mentioned that the age of the Church must be around 175 years.

Anyone interested in Christian Theology and Moral issues may refer his blogs.

Swains with Fr. Mervy Carapiet; felt blessed.

 The altar is imposing. One is simply awestruck by the sheer height of the pillars. The picture below has two people in teh frame. The viewers may guess the size of it accordingly. Unlike many historic laces, it was clean and well maintained. And, as I have mentioned earlier also there was a particular smell in teh air; it could be because of the wood, the oil they use to preserve it or that of time itself. MY LORD AND MY GOD is distinctly visible.

The main altar

 The facade on the front is made of Belgian glass. Having seen so many by now, I am aware that it is a single large piece with paintings and etchings made on it depicting the various stages of Jesus's life. The glass alone must be 30-35 ft. high. Birth, hanging and Last Supper is distinctly visible.

The altar piece; all Belgian glass with beautiful paintings.

  To the right of the entrance is the "Precepts of the Church" and to the exact left is the list of Ten Commandments. Both of them written on white marble.

The famous Commandment

Precepts of the Church

The most important and distinct item(s) unique to the Church is the presence of 14 unique reliefs depicting the various stages upto the final death of Jesus. They are placed sufficiently high on wither the pillar walls or the main walls of the hall. A sample is shown below.

Illustration V on the Wall

The entire list is as follows

I - Jesus is confirmed to death.

II - Jesus is made to read his Cross.

III - Jesus falls the first time under his Cross.

IV - Jesus meets his afflicted Mother.

V - The Cyrenean helps Jesus to carry his Cross.

VI - Veronica wipes the face of Jesus.

VII - Jesus falls the second time.

VIII - Jesus speaks to the women of Jerusalem.

IX - Jesus falls the third time.

X - Jesus is stripped of his garments.

XI - Jesus is nailed to the Cross.

XII - Jesus dies on the Cross.

XIII - Jesus is taken down from the Cross.

XIV - Jesus is laid in the sephulchre.

On the right wall there is a slight extra curvature with two statues (below); I could recognise one of being the Mother with Jesus.

As mentioned above

 There were two distinct galleries on the left and the right (as picturised below). It is replete with releifs, memorials of many important people who were associated with the Church. The most prominent among them was Rev. Eugene Lafont S.J.. This is the same gentleman who is considered the twin architect of modern science in India along with Mahendra Lal Sircar. They went to on instill confidence in many Indian citizens of those era. Prominent among them were Jagdish Bose and C V Raman who were indebted to the twin architects. Too much more is besides the topic of this blog, however.

 

The alleys / galleries 

It was after all a fruitful and meaningful visit. For me getting details in the first visit is very important because I have so many places to cover and it would become difficult to visit the place once again for fetching some more details in tranches.

The accomplices

The accomplices