Thousands throng Cossipore Garden House to celebrate Kalpataru Utsav

Kolkata: Thousands of devotees visited Cossipore Garden House to take part in Kalpataru Utsav on Wednesday.

It was on January 1, 1986, when Sri Ramakrishna blessed the householder disciples who had assembled at the Cossipore Garden House. Sri Ramakrishna was suffering from cancer and January 1 being a Sunday, many of his householder disciples had come to see him.

Sri Ramakrishna had come down to the garden from his first floor room and blessed his disciples, saying "be conscious."

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted on the occasion: "Today is Kalpataru Utsav. It is said that on this day Ramakrishna Paramhansa Deb transformed into 'Kalpataru' - the mystical tree that fulfills everyone's wishes. My greetings to all." The devotees waited in long queues and visited the room where Sri Ramakrishna used to stay and breathed his last. In the afternoon, there was a conference where the speakers talked about the life and philosophy of Sri Ramakrishna.

A special puja was held and well-known vocalists presented devotional songs. Sri Ramakrishna himself was a singer and sung songs when he visited the house of Vidyasagar and the Brahmo Samaj Temple.

Many devotees visited Dakshineshwar Temple and offered puja to Ma Bhabatarini. The devotees waited for hours on the courtyard and offered their puja. They also visited 12 Shiva temples and the room where Sri Ramakrishna used to stay.

Devotees visited Belur Math and visited the Ramakrishna Temple along with the temples of Ma Sarada, Swami Vivekananda and Swami Bramhananda. The state government deployed more launches to ferry the devotees from Kolkata and Dakshineshwar to Belur Math.

People also visited Kali Temple and offered puja on the first day of the year. Special arrangements were made by the police so that the devotees could visit the temple smoothly.

Hundreds of devotees offered puja at Lake Kalibari. The devotees gathered at the temple premises from early morning and offered puja.

Many clubs celebrated the day by offering food and clothes to the people coming from economically chall-

enged backgrounds. Devotees also thronged around Karunamoyee Kali Temple and offered puja.