Buddhist Temples of Kolkata (Calcutta)

A compilation of Buddhist Temples in Kolkata (Calcutta)

Kolkata, formerly Calcutta, has always been a melting pot of people of different religion and ethnicity. As the different religious group settled in a new city they set up there own place of worship.

As these religious group were further divided in sub sects and ethnicity, each of these groups started coming up with there own place of worships.

Unlike the Christian, Jews and Parsis the Buddhist came much later to the city and only a handful of there temples date backs over a century. But still Kolkata boast a interesting collection of Buddhist Temples, belonging to different ethnic groups, and scattered all  over the city.

1. Chinese Buddhist Temple, Lake Town

Chinese Buddhist Temple, Lake Town

The Chinese Buddhist Temple is located on Jessore Road in between Lake Town and Bangur.

The official address is 426 Jessore Road and the temple is located on a narrow lane on the opposite foot of Lake Town and Bangur.

It is a new temple, opened only in 1962. It went through an extension in 1972. The Chinese Buddhist Temple on Jessore Road consists of a large central hall and several smaller shrines. It also houses a library containing a large number of hand written religious text.

The temple is not very well maintained and is rarely visited by devotes. An old lady caretaker looks after the Chinese Buddhist Temple.

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Myanmar (Burma) Buddhist Temple, Kolkata (Calcutta)

A Piece of Myanmar (Burma) in the Heart of Kolkata (Calcutta)

Also see: Buddhist Temple of Kolkata (Calcutta)

Myanmar (Burma) Buddhist Temple, Kolkata (Calcutta)

As I climbed the dimly lit staircase of Kolkata’s (Calcutta’s) only Mayanmarese (Burmese) Buddhist Temple a few lines of Amitav Ghosh’s best selling novel The Glass Palace flashed in my mind.

“Rajkumar’s favorite haunt was a small Buddhist temple in the centre of the city…. They would make their way across town on a bus and get off at the stop for the Eden Hospital. They’d climb up the grimy marble stairs and when they reached the top, they would step into a hall that seemed to be a world away from its surroundings: full of light, perfumed with scent of fresh flowers…. “

Rajkumar, literally meaning prince, the principle character of Amitav Ghosh’s novel The Glass Palace was by no means a prince. In the first chapter of Glass Palace Amitav Ghosh descrbes Rajkumar as “His name meant prince, but he was anything but princely in appearance.”

As my memory wondered through the pages of The Glass Palace I made my way to the top floor of the building housing the small and beautiful shrine. Straight in front of me was the statue of Lord Buddha dressed in golden attire with is gleaming white face.