The Bharat Mata Mandir in Varanasi has a large topographical map of the Indian subcontinent as its deity. Located in Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith campus, the temple, built by the university’s founder and freedom fighter Babu Shiv Prasad Gupta, is dedicated to Bharat Mata. Completed in 1924, the temple was inaugurated in 1936 by Mahatma Gandhi. Carved in Makrana marble, the map lies at the centre of the temple and depicts Afghanistan, Baluchistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma (Myanmar) and Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Its detailed layout features 450 mountain ranges and peaks. plains, water bodies, rivers, oceans and plateaus among other geographical bodies, in a vertical scale. On Republic Day and Independence Day, the oceans surrounding the landmass are filled with water and the land areas decorated with flowers.
Visitors walk in to the sight of a massive topographical map of the undivided Indian subcontinent, built in marble on the floor of the hall. Marigolds spell out the word “Bharat” in Hindi on the relief map. Mountains, rivers and seas are intricately outlined but there are no manmade boundary lines. A picture of the archetypal, all-enduring maternal figure of Bharat Mata hangs on the walls alongside rare maps. With no prescribed rituals to follow, the temple invites the visitor to contemplate the idea of India for themselves. On Republic Day and Independence Day, the map is immersed in water to make its water features more lifelike. You’re pretty much left to your own devices though there is a caretaker. It’s peaceful, no fanfare, no code of conduct. In the most literal sense, to be Indian is to belong to this piece of earth.
Credit : C.N Traveller
Picture Credit : Google
