I had the opportunity to attend a festival at my landlords' temple a few weeks back. They are active members at the local Sri Ramakrishna Vivekananda temple, where Mrs. Roybardhan tutors under-privileged children in an after-school program.
The festival was a celebration of the birth of Sri Sharada Devi, the wife of the founder of their organization, Sri Ramakrishna.
In the main temple, the statue of Sri Ramakrishna and a photo of Sri Sharada Devi were decked out for the occasion.
Sri Sarada Devi has her own temple in the complex.
The sari she is wearing was donated by Mr. and Mrs. Roybardhan.
Here one of the temple swamis performs a vedic ritual.
He frequently consulted his notebook to make sure he was following each step correctly.
He offered various fruits, greenery, flowers, and also yoghurt to the fire.
Making offerings to the fire.
The ritual itself lasted for about an hour, with prayers before and after.
After the ritual, everyone shared in a communal meal, and then the women went to Sri Sharada Devi's temple to sing devotional songs.
Several world religions are represented in the temple (not pictured here- symbols of the Sikh, Jewish, Christian, and Buddhist traditions).
The temple has six beehives; they sell their honey locally for a little extra revenue.
One swami at the temple is particularly fond of gardening. Here are some of the fruits (flowers?) of his labor.
