Photos Kolkata-1945 & Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

Calcutta ( Kolkata ) 1945
The Nimtolla Mosque, largest Mohammedan mosque in Calcutta. Its prayer hall will accomodate 10,000 worshippers. A modern specimen of Indo-Sarascenic architecture, its Minarets (towers)are 151 feet high. GI truck at entrace is waiting for a load of soldiers on American Red Cross tour.

Nimtolla burning ghat where Hindus burn the bodies of their dead and commit the remains to the Hooghly river. Several funeral pyres still burn while abandoned baby in foregroud awaits burning.

Hindus bathe in the holy water of a canal which was cut from the original bed of the Ganges. Steps lead down from the grounds of the Kalighat temple. Water is still considered holy, even though from the Hooghly.

Brahmins worhips in the Kalighat temple Spoon-shaped brass container holds Ganges waer. Brahmins are the highest caste of Hindus, their mark of distinction being the piece of string seen in hand of gray-haired senior Brahmin.

Hindu wife prays to the God Siva for blessing of fertility. Phallic symbol is obscured by iron grating at base of a type cactus tree which is believed to have power to endow worshipper with productive powers. Woman whose face barely shows behind tree has prayed in vain for days and has been seen there day after day by Red Cross girls who take GI tours to the temple.

Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa
Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa (February 18, 1836 - August 16, 1886), born Gadadhar Chattopadhyay, was a famous mystic of 19th-century India. His religious school of thought led to the formation of the Ramakrishna Mission by his chief disciple Swami Vivekananda - both were influential figures in the Bengali Renaissance as well as the Hindu renaissance during the 19th and 20th centuries.Many of his disciples and devotees believe he was an avatar or incarnation of God. More..

Ramakrishna at Dakshineswar

Photograph of Ramakrishna, taken on 10 December 1881 at the studio of "The Bengal Photographers" in Radhabazar, Calcutta (Kolkata)

Ramakrishna in samadhi at the house of Keshab Chandra Sen. He is seen supported by his nephew Hriday and surrounded by brahmo devotees.