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Venice in Italy

About a decade ago our member Ms C. Dutta had gone for a Europe tour with her son, daughter-in-law and grandson. She shares her eternal moments of the exclusivity of Italy and Switzerland.

During our Europe tour one of the most fascinating places was Italy, a country with a long Mediterranean coastline. We visited the capital city of Rome the Vatican museums there; Florence which has artistic masterpieces such as Michelangelo’s “David” and Brunelleschi’s Duomo; and Venice, the city of canals. 

Switzerland on the other hand offered scenic beauties, snow capped mountains, skiing opportunities and so on. I experienced completely different geographical parameters in both the places.

In Rome we came across a lot of historical monuments such as the Colosseum, the Roman Chapels and Vatican museums. The Colosseum, an amphitheatre is one the best monuments, even if parts of it has ruined due to earthquakes and stone robberies. But it still is a main tourist attraction and one of the new seven wonders of the world. 

The churches look wonderful with their pillared structures and the central dome. They are built in a circular form of the imperial mausoleums. Elegant facades lure you towards grand doorways. In these churches we saw the world-renowned masterpieces by some of the greatest artists in history, including Michelangelo, Bernini, Caravaggio, and Raphael! We also saw in one of the churches Michelangelo’s masterful sculpture of Moses. 

The Vatican museums are mind-blowing and leaves you gaping at the masterpieces of Renaissance art and the Roman sculptures. Florence is also known for its culture, Renaissance art and architecture, monuments, museums and art galleries. It is also one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The Uffizi gallery holds a collection of priceless works of the Italian Renaissance whereas the Academy’s Gallery has housed Michelangelo’s “David”. The best was the Pope’s House, the Apostolic Palace. We attended his lecture in the audience hall and were fortunate enough to be introduced to him being Indians. 

Venice seemed to be absolutely marvellous being the only city without roads and only waterbodies for thoroughfare. No wonder it is called the city of canals. An entire city built on nearly 100 small islands in a lagoon, seemed like a dream. The gondola ride was exquisite and an unforgettable experience.

We had experienced a complete scenic change in Switzerland. The Alps, the snow and the numerous lakes looked enchanting. I had a once in a lifetime experience skiing on the snow of the mighty Alps. The Rhine falls was equally spectacular. The landscape and villages around the river Rhine were stunning. We also visited a beautiful place located between two lakes. 

The medieval town of Lucerne surrounded by mountains had a unique feature. Vehicles were not allowed here, so one could enjoy the historical buildings, lakes, walking on the low-lying bridges. It is also famous for Chapel Bridge and the Lion Monument. The top of the tallest cathedral of Switzerland – The Bern Cathedral gave us a majestic view of the Aare River and of the city around.

Every moment spent in these places have left a lasting impression on my mind. The serenity, the scenery, the waters everything was breath-taking.  
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Down Memory Lane

Venerable Varanasi

Venerable Varanasi
Our member Ms Sulekha De had recently visited Vrindavan with a group of friends. She describes her journey, her stay and some of the temples and ghats she went to.

On 8th March 2023, we started on our journey to Vrindavan from Durgapur by train. We were a group of 40 people. First, we went to Mathura which is considered sacred for being the birthplace of Lord Sri Krishna, a well-known deity of the Hindu religion. We visited Mallapura where a group of temples have been built to mark Lord Krishna’s birthplace. Dotting the Yamuna River are 25 ghats, of which Vishram Ghat is considered the holiest. It is a worship place on the banks of the river Yamuna where the traditional parikrama starts and ends. People take a bath in the holy waters there. It is believed that Sri Krishna rested here after slaying the evil Kamsa.

From there we went by bus to Vrindavan to the ashram of our Guruji. Not too many people stay there, but the ashram has been neatly kept and can accommodate 150 people. Guruji takes care of all devotees and cooks the bhog prasad for everyone. According to the ashram schedule, everyone used to leave in the morning and come back at noon for bhog prasad. Then again, they would go out and return at night and have bhog prasad.

While staying there we travelled to different places in Vrindavan. It is said that Lord Krishna had grown up in Vrindavan. The place is dedicated to Krishna and his love for the deity Radha. It’s a very famous place and tourists from all over come here, particularly to know about the long-established mythological story of Radha Krishna.

We first went to see Kamsa’s prison where Sri Krishna was born. Then we went to Raval near Gokul where Radha was born, and from there we went to Barsana a place where Radha grew up. We also visited Jatila ki Haveli considered as Radharani’s in-law’s house.

At Vrindavan’s Keshi Ghat many people immerse themselves to have a bath in the holy water, we too did the same. On another day we went to Govardhan Giri, situated 1 km from Vrindavan. After the circumambulation, we went to Radha Kund and Shyam Kund to have a bath and then went back to the ashram to have the mid-day prasad. Then we went to the Yamuna ghat to witness the evening arati and then went back to the ashram.

We also had the luck to visit the Banke Bihari temple where Banke Bihari the combined form of Radha Krishna is worshipped. The next place was Prem Mandir, it is a famous temple of Vrindavan with huge, and palatial in size. It is constructed entirely of Italian marble. It looks like a two-storeyed white monument situated on a raised platform. A circumambulation route has been constructed on the mandir courtyard. The platform of the temple enables visitors to view the 48 panels depicting the pastimes of Shri Radha Krishna which are carved on the outer walls of the temple. Other than this, numerous portraits of Radha Krishna Leela, or the miracles of Lord Krishna, can also be found inside the temple.

The last worthwhile place was the Iskcon Vrindavan dedicated to the Hindu Gods Krishna and Balarama. It is beautifully constructed and is the best place to listen to the kirtans. One of the foreign devotees had donated 20 Crores there, for the temple management to provide free prasad, twice a day, to all devotees who went there for the next 2 years. It was a splendid temple trip and I had a wonderful time visiting the numerous small and big temples during my stay there.