Dressed in saffron dhoti and kurta, sandalwood tilaks smeared on foreheads, bare on the feet and heads, they whisper into walkie-talkies in order to access each other. With jap-mala pouches tightly clenched in fists they intersperse their conversation with the sixteen-word mantra: "Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare." The enterprising bunch of 60 devotees at Bangalore's ISKCON Centre are currently experiencing cloud nine. They have every reason to for they have just fulfilled the wishes of their guru and founder of ISKCON Srila Prabhupadha - that of building a temple complex that has the potential of evolving into a spiritual township on earth

BANGALORE'S latest pilgrimage address is perched rock hard on Hare Krishna Hill, Chord Road. And the pilgrims ought to thank first, no, not Lord Krishna but Mr. Ramakrishna Hegde for making that happen.

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) Bangalore is lending the final touches to its Rs.26-crore multi-God temple complex that have not only brought celestial beings down to earth but is blessed with all the trappings of a tourist destination that could send the Karnataka state government coffers soaring. Sri Sathya Sai Baba and his Whitefield ashram have, indeed, heavenly competition in store.

"I would like to state at the outset that the funds for the entire project were generated by devotees from Bangalore only," asserted Sri Varadakrishnan an ex-engineer from Andhra Pradesh who has converted himself into a full-time ISKCON devotee. "It was not that we selected Bangalore over other cities for this project, but, at the right point of time, let's say, Lord Krishna intervened and the then chief minister of Karnataka Mr. Ramakrishna Hegde granted us 7.5 acres of rocky terrain."

You can make mountains out of molehills but to cut a desolate and abandoned hillock into a contemporary pilgrimage point is a daunting task. Yet, the countless devotees of the Hare Rama Hare Krishna movement in Bangalore including 60 life-time devotees who reside within the complex have accomplished their mission in seven years. And this includes temples dedicted to numerous Gods, an open air amphitheatre, multimedia auditoriums, professional grade recording studios, open landscaped gardens, a waterfall-cascade, seminar rooms, conference halls, an 800-seater samskar kendra (with dining facility for 1,500 at a time), multivision vedic animotronic shows, a 450 seater air-conditioned theatre, computer-synchronised multi projection systems, a full fledged vedic library and information centre, computer based vedic encyclopedia.... the works! An educational and informative vedic art museum including thematic displays are proposed in the second phase of the project.

"In the second stage we will also create infrastructure to facilitate mass distribution of prasadam food to pilgrims, tourists and visitors. The objective is to serve free lunch to one lakh needy and deserving people in the first year. Later, the humanitarian food relief programme will extend distribution of food to inmates in hospitals, oldage homes, orphanages and prisons," informed Sri Varadakrishnan. 'Designed by Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa, president and project director of ISKCON, Bangalore, the temple is built in the neo-classical style and focuses on symmetry with its outer grey-white ferro-cement walls topped in regions by imported reflective glass. "We have planned the temples as per vastu shastra keeping in context the functional utility, aesthetics and economics. We have blended different architectural forms together using modern construction materials and technology," said Sri Varadakrishnan.

There are five main temples dedicted to various Gods/avatars----the Sri Krishna Balaram Mandir, the Sri Balaji Venkateswara Devasthanam, the Sri Radha Krishna Chandra Mandir, the Sri Nitai Gauranga Mandir, the Sri Narashimadeva & Prahalada Mandir. Within the precints of the Sri Krishna Balaram Mandir sits the gold-coated statue of Srila Prabhupadha, the founder of ISKCON. "Each of the deities are made of five essential metals and plated in pure gold," informed Sri Varadakrishnan. Dolled up in gaily coloured silk, brocade and gold ornaments the idols by themselves present a glorious sight. The Bangalore ISKCON temple will also go down in religious history as the first ever temple in India to be incorporated with a lift. Explained Sri Varadakrishnan, "we hope that the lift will be of use to the elderly who find it difficult to climb up the staircase." Inside the Sri Krishna Balaram Mandir a voluminous lotus shaped chandeliar plated in gold rests on the ceiling so as to light up the temple and the amphitheatre two floors high.

The temple complex has two roads one which serves as an entry road and the other as an exit road. A pedestrian flyover is also under construction for pilgrims who are expected in thousands (at least 8,000 on festive days) daily. The complex also has 70 rooms for guests. Foreign devotees staying in Bangalore on a permanent basis are practically nil just as there is a total absence of female devotees. So far, ISKCON in Bangalore is a Brahmacharya stronghold.

And of course, everybody cannot become a devotee overnight. "To become a full-time devotee you have to study the Bhagwad Gita, understand it, accept it, learn it and then when fully committed, join ISKCON," enlightened Sri Varadakrishnan. The followers have to abstain from any kind of intoxication including drinking tea and coffee, gambling, extra-marital sex and non vegetarin food. Celibacy is not imposed and those who wish to marry can do so.

All domestic work within the complex including cooking and cleaning are carried out by the devotees. All visitors to the temple are presented with prasad and holy water. Prasad consists of mewa cubes and puliyodarai (tamarind rice), the best one could get. And what does ISKCON think of Godman Sri Sathya Sai Baba who claims to be an avatar of Lord Krishna ? Sri Varadakrishnan smiled: "There is only one Lord Krishna whom we worship. There cannot be another on this earth."