The members of the Hare Krishna sect made their appearance in Bangalore about two decades ago. Most of them were foreigners. The Hare Krishnas began to function from a private temple on the Race Course Road belonging to the descendants of Dewan Purnaiya. The road in front of the temple has been named Hare Krishna Road by the City Corporation.

The people of Bangalore are watching with interest the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) execute perhaps the most ambitious temple project in the State in recent times. There was a large gathering during the recent Krishnajanmasthami at the temple site where work is going on apace.

The Rs. 10 crore temple complex of the ISKCON being built on a rocky prominence, will be a blend of religion and high technology. The Hare Krishna temple complex is coming up on the Chord Road in Rajajinagar First Block, close to the Government Soap Factory. It will have a belvedere view of the city around.

It was in 1988, when Mr. Ramakrishna Hegde was the Chief Minister that the BDA allotted seven acres of hilly terrain to the ISKCON. Through the temple project the ISKCON is bringing to Bangaloreans two attractions the 'Krishnaland' and the musical fountains. The complex will have five blocks, the main block with five temples dedicated to Radhakrishna, Krishna Balaram, Gour Netai (Chaitanya Mahaprabu). Lakshminarasimha and Balaji, an amphitheatre, an international guest house, offices and restaurant Brahmachari Ashram, prasada distribution hall, kitchen and residential block.

Sri Jayapataka Swami, the American scholar in Sanskrit and Bengali, who presides over the ISKCON at its Mayapur headquarters in Nadia District of West Bengal, conceived the Bangalore project. The Society is to some extent using its own engineering expertise in building the complex. It has been designed by Sri Jagatchandrasdas and Sri Madhu Pandit Das, who heads the ISKCON in Karnataka and Bhaktilatha Devadasi. Sri Madhu Pandit, holds an M. Tech. degree from IIT (Bombay). The structural aspect has been left to two life members of the Society. Mr. K. L. Balu and Prof. Mohan. A sum of Rs. 25 lakhs has been spent on preparing the ground to lay the foundation.

The Krishnaland project which will employ modern robotics is being designed by Sri Giridhardas, a mechanical engineer from Zurich, Switzerland. It will be a sound, light and motion depiction of the different processes of Yoga culture culminating in Bhaktiveda or surrender to the Lord. Electronically controlled pneumatic gadgets which will operate on compressed air, will run the Krishnaland. It will have a kaleidoscopic rotating dome depicting Krishnarasa dance and Krishnaleela. A voyage across Krishnaland will be a two hour experience says Sri Giridhardas, it will introduce the visitor to the different forms of Yoga such as Sankhya, Astanga and Brahmajyothi. He says that an abandoned granite quarry in the site selected for Krishnaland will be converted into the temple pond, Kalyani. 'It will be a ocean of birth and death.'

The main temple block will have the traditional South Indian temple gopura and mantap. It will be 60 ft high and its glass ceiling is claimed to be an innovation. "The night sky will be turned ethereal by the imported glass sheets." The glass canopies will blend with the four majestic gopuras. At the intermediate level, will be Vedic dioramas and display of the pastimes of Lord Krishna. The complex will have an open air theatre with a seating capacity of 10.000. It is claimed to be the biggest facility for promoting Indian arts and culture. A landscaped sloping garden with musical fountains will surround the temple complex.

The temple project is scheduled to be completed in 1995, coinciding with the birth centenary of the ISKCON founder Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. A modern kalyana mantap is to be built on Hare Krishna Hill. It will also have a free kalyana mantap and a dispensary. The temple will have a 'Govinda Restaurant' to serve prasadam to the devotees.

A. Jayaram