# Bengal

Kalpataru festival, sans devotees

While no devotee from outside was allowed to enter the premises, people loitered around the Ashram today, it is learnt.

Statesman News Service | Raiganj | January 2, 2021 2:16 pm

Amid Covid-19 concerns, the Ramkrishna Mission this time around organised a restrained Kalpataru festival on the premises of the Ramkrishna Ashram at Ukilpara in Raiganj in North Dinajpur district. While no devotee from outside was allowed to enter the premises, people loitered around the Ashram today, it is learnt.

I t may be mentioned here that around 5000 devotees used to assemble on the premises of the Ashram to witness the Kalpataru festival every year. “Devotees would cheerfully participate in devotional songs, ‘kirtan,’ and receive the ‘prasad’ in normal times. However, this year, the situation has changed and entry to the Ashram was restricted,” a source said.

The coordinator of the Ramkrishna Mission in Raiganj, controlled by Belur Math, Swami Satya Dharma Nandaji Maharaj, said, “We observed the Kalpataru festival with kirtan and devotional songs very briefly today. We did not allow people inside the Ashram premises as per the government instructions and guidelines in controlling the pandemic.”