From the railway station we went straight to the hotel where we had our room booked. We were in high spirits and decided that after freshening up we would visit the famous Kalighat Temple Kolkata. By six o’ clock we were ready to embark on a new and exciting journey. We reached the temple in a hired car and it is located in southern Kolkata near Kalighat Metro station. The Kalighat Temple is a part of the fifty two Shakti Peeths of India and it is believed that Maa Sati’s right foot toe fell here in this place. This Hindu temple is a very famous pilgrimage site where worshippers of Maa Kali and Lord Shiva come in hordes to offer prayers. The main deity of the temple is Maa Kali and the face of Goddess is worshipped as the idol.
The idol has four hands, a long tongue and three eyes, which are all made of gold and silver. This more than 200-year old temple is one of the most cherished and visited historical temples of India. The temple is open every day and its timings were 5.00 AM to 2.00 PM and 5.00 PM to 10.30 PM and it is closed from 2.00 PM to 5.00 PM. There were many shops lined outside the temple and we bought the puja items as well as Prasad to offer the Goddess.
There were two ways for the darshan and we chose to go through the VIP route, which would lead to the Garba Griha or the inner sanctum where the darshan of the Goddess was easily accessible. The Mangal Aarti is held every day at 4.00 AM and the Sandhya Aarti starts at 6.30 PM. We were very lucky that the Aarti started as soon as we reached inside the premises. The Chants, the Hymns and the Aarti were a delightful and wonderful experience. When our turn came we offered prayers and it was a divine experience. While coming out of the temple premises we bought many items as souvenir like the painting of the Goddess and some garlands of beats.
The Kalighat Temple Kolkata is simply one of the best temples we have visited because of its mesmerizing atmosphere and going through this temple we decided to visit the Belur Math Kolkata.