Temple With A Touch Of Glass

Construction on the ISKCON temple in Bengaluru was completed in 1997

Bangalore Mirror: The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), Bengaluru, is a newer icon when compared to the 1,000-year-old temples in the city. With a blend of tradition and modern architecture, the ISKCON temple is illuminated and devotees from all over the world come to visit here. ISKCON is an example of an architectural landmark in the city.

ISKCON Bangalore was started as a charitable society in 1978. In 1987, the society was operating from a rented house in Bengaluru. In 1987, the leaders of the society applied to Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) for allotment of land to construct a grand temple and cultural complex.

The land was allotted on August 3, 1988 - a seven-acre hillock, which was nothing but a huge piece of monolithic rock that could not be converted into sites. The BDA described it as "Waste Land". A temporary shed was constructed to set up a make-shift temple and the deities of Sri Krishna Balarama moved to this shed on the appearance day of Lord Balarama (September 1988).

Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa, the President of the ISKCON Bangalore Society, is a qualified civil engineer from IIT (Mumbai) and applied his knowledge to conceive a wonderful temple for Krishna with the help of Sri Jagat Chandra Dasa (a devotee who was also an architect and product engineer from IIT-Mumbai). The unique combination of glass and gopuram represents a fusion between majestic traditional styles and bold new aesthetics.

The original simple temple design started in 1990 estimated to cost Rs 10 crore gave way to a more stunning, unique architectural model that cost Rs 32 crore. The construction started in 1990. Around 600 skilled craftsmen spent more than 10 million man-hours to construct this architectural wonder. About 32,000 cubics mt of stone, 131,250 tons of cement and 1,900 tons of steel were used in the construction. Subsequently, the temple construction was completed in 1997. The temple and cultural complex were inaugurated by then President of India Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma on May 31, 1997.

ISKCON gained popularity for its architecture and the serenity as it was built on a hill. The temple celebrates many festivals and Krishna Janmashtami is something that should not be missed. The flavour, the pomp and shlokas and the grandeur which is given here to Lord Krishna are not given anywhere in the city. Devotees of Lord Vishnu observe Ekadashi Vrata and remember the god by chanting his holy names. Ekadashi is the 11th day of the fortnight of the waxing moon. However, ISKCON Bangalore has been caught in a slew of court cases for a long time now.