Putting Lockdown Times to Good Use
An environmental activist for Sri Braj Mandala, our friend Nandu Lal has always been working tirelessly to clean up the holy Vrindavan dham. Recently, he got in touch with us to let us know about his newest project – cleaning up the area around Sri Radha Rani temple and palace in Barsana – and invited us to come along to document and promote the work being done there.
A Field Trip to Barsana
And the temple of Radha Rani
We jumped at the chance to join him on his daily drive to Barsana. The one hour drive was on narrow dirt and rugged country roads, past villages with tethered buffalo contently chewing their cud, grazing cows and carts piled high with bumper crops of yellow mangoes. Nandu oversees the work teams of 30 village volunteers at the foothills of the Temple and palace grounds.
Radha Rani Temple
Sitting high above her village,
Stretched out on a ridge on Bhanugardh Peak in Barsana, this Hindu temple is dedicated to Radha Rani, beloved of Krishna, since this is her birth village. It is one of the most visited temples in all of the Sri Braja Mandala and the site of the annual Lathmar Holi. People come from all over the country and world to watch the villagers play Lathmar Holi and to participate in the colorful festivities. The temple is about 400 years old and was built by Raja Veer Sign in 1675. Constructed with alternate red and white stones, symbolizing the love of Radha and Krishna.
View on GOOGLE EARTH
The main deities at the temple are, of course, Radha and Krishna. You can reach the top by climbing up 200 steps to the temple entrance and still more steps to reach the deities.
Across the ridge is the palace of Radha’s father. It also has a small temple within the courtyard. Paintings adorn the walls and ceiling of the temple, which depict Radha and Krishna’s pastimes. Unfortunately, villagers and caretakers live in the palace and there is evidence of graffiti and mundane life (underwear hanging out to dry at the temple doors).
The view from either venue is breath taking, with the village of Barsana nestled haphazardly below the two hills of Brahma (the temple) and Vishnu (the palace)
Decades of Rubble Surround the Beauty
Mountains of plastic bags & clay tea cups
Unfortunately, it is a fact of life in India that littering is the norm as it has been for many decades and the garbage just builds and builds. Nobody will touch it, or deal with it and if they did, where would they put it? There isn’t a municipal refuse committee or council anywhere in India that I know of. But it only takes one person to decide to do something about it. And that one person contacted our friend, Nandu Lal and asked him to take on the task, which he did.
From the first week in May, his crew of mostly village volunteers and day laborers have cleared away 70 DUMP TRUCK LOADS of garbage from around the palace and temple. At one place, just outside the temple walls, garbage they removed was over 15 FEET DEEP! That’s 4.5 meters for the rest of you guys!!
Too bad we didn’t get there to take some before shots! We were able to get videos and photos after 2-3 weeks of daily work clearing and cleaning. And we’ll bring you more updates as they progress.
Stay Tuned
There’s more to come!
Nandu has big plans for the grounds and landscaping, turning it into a beautiful park between the palace and the temple for people to walk, meditate, read, chant with indigenous plants and trees for the natural wildlife to return to.
Great to know about the mission clean up in and around Radharani temple. Visited this place today, and found it so beautiful and serene. The palace looks so magnificent from the temple. May Radha Rani bless the team led by Nandu, and may his dream of revitalization come true.
Many blessings to you and yours! So glad you enjoyed a peaceful day at Radharani Temple, may her mercy be with you always!