Priests offer noodles and chop suey as prasad at Kolkata’s ‘Chinese Kali Temple’

Team Udayavani, Aug 25, 2021, 10:24 AM IST

In India, we have many temples that are known for their Prasadam. One among these is the “Chinese Kali Temple,” located in Kolkata’s famous Tangra area, where the priests offer noodles and chop suey as prasad to the worshippers.

The temple is also called the “China Town” and one can see a blend of Tibetan and East Asian culture in this area, making it a good tourist attraction.

The temple and the idol look the same as in any other Goddess Kali temple across India. Chinese cuisine like noodles, chop suey, sticky rice, and various other dishes are also offered to Goddess Kali in this temple and later distributed among devotees.

 

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Through this temple, the locals were trying to hold on to the Indian culture while incorporating the Chinese.

As per reports, the temple is said to be 80 years old. For 60 years, Hindus used to worship two granite stones with vermilion over them beneath a tree at the site before the temple was constructed. Around 20 years ago, people from the Bengali and Chinese communities came together to built the Chinese Kali temple in Tangra, Kolkata.

The mythological tale goes like this- a 10-year-old Chinese boy had fallen sick. As nobody could cure him and the parents lost hope as all their efforts went in vain. Hence they prayed to God for their son’s health and he became better after a few days. It was a miracle for them and the people in the locality. Since then, the site acquired significance for the Chinese population as well as other locals before a temple was eventually constructed.