Brigade gears up for Gita chanting, ISKCON Mayapur too draws record footfall

Ahead of Assembly polls, political sparring intensified over the forthcoming five-lakh-voice Gita chanting event at Kolkata’s Brigade Parade Ground. A strikingly different scene has played out at Mayapur in Nadia.

- RAJIB CHAKRABORTY

While opposition parties accused the BJP and its affiliates of “political polarisation” through the 7 December programme —highlighting the participation of RSS-leaning Hindu monks and saffron leaders, including Sadhvi Rithambara, ISKCON’s global headquarters has witnessed an unprecedented surge of visitors during its own Gita Jayanti celebrations.

This year, ISKCON observed Gita Jayanti from 25 November to 1 December, drawing what authorities describe as the highest footfall in recent memory. Around 10,000 youths officially registered for the festival, travelling from across India, while an estimated three lakh visitors arrived in Mayapur over six days—far beyond the organisers’ expectations.