ISKCON Bangalore celebrates Sri Krishna Balarama Rathyatra 2012.

Jan. 19, 2012 - PRLog -- This is the festival commemorating the pastime in which the residents of Vrindavana take Krishna, Balarama and Subhadra from Kurukshetra to Vrindavana on chariots and is celebrated in Jagannatha Puri in all grandeur. Srila Prabhupada conducted the Ratha Yatra festival or the festival of chariots all over the world.
ISKCON Bangalore celebrates this festival by taking Sri Sri Krishna Balarama on the grand temple chariot which has a sliding canopy. The Sri Sri Krishna Balarama Deities come out of the temple and ride on Their chariots to bless the devotees. Thousands of devotees pull the chariot, offer their prayers, join in the kirtana and partake the prasadam being distributed, all along the route of the Ratha Yatra.
The chariot festival of Sri Sri Krishna Balarama was celebrated at Rajajinagar, with great pomp and splendor on Thursday, Jan 14, 2012. Sri Sri Krishna Balarama Deities came out of the temple and rode on Their chariots on the streets of Rajajinagar to bless the devotees. The local residents and general public pulled the chariot, offered their prayers and joined in the Kirtanas. The devotees were in ecstatic mood welcoming the Lord by chanting and singing the praises of the Lord’s pastimes.

Sri Narahari, President - Akhila Bharatiya Shaikshanika Mahasangha, Sri Dr. Ashwath Narayan, MLA - Malleswaram, Sri S Harish, Deputy Mayor of Bangalore were the guests of honor. ISKCON Bangalore President Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa presided over the inauguration ceremony of Ratha yatra.

Speaking in the occassion Madhu Pandit Dasa said, “We pray to The Lord for the well being of the world in general and the Bangaloreans in particular. The rathotsava was started in the year 1985 and its Their Lordship’s leela (Pastimes) that happens each year successfully and by Their grace ISKCON Bangalore's various initiatives have borne fruit. We wish to extend this rathotsava to other parts of Bangalore city”.

Along the ratha yatra route devotees welcomed the ratha by cleaning the roads and drawing rangoli, they also offered fruits, flowers and other auspicious items to Sri Sri Krishna Balarama.

ISKCON Temple History:
In September 1987, ISKCON Bangalore was operating from a rented house in the city with a handful of devotees. Under the leadership of the Temple President,
Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa, ISKCON Bangalore applied for a 7-acre hillock from the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA). The BDA had described it as “karaab land” (waste land) as it was a huge piece of monolithic rock and could not be converted into sites. The BDA sanctioned the land at a cost of Rs. 11 lakhs to be paid in 90 days. With practically no resources in hand, the team of devotees managed to collect the sum partly with the help of some donors and partly through loan.
On Lord Balarama’s appearance day of September 1988, the Deities of Krishna Balarama moved to a temporary shed on this land.    
Deity installation
The original simple temple design started in 1990 and estimated to cost Rs.10 crore gave way to a more stunning, unique architectural model that cost Rs.32 crores and that today represents a fusion between majestic traditional styles and bold new aesthetics.
The prathistha ceremonies or Deity installation ceremonies was conducted in the month of April 1997. Yajnas were held for continuous 45 days non-stop. On 31st May 1997, the President of India, Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma inaugurated the Sri Radha Krishna Chandra Temple and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Cultural Complex.