The ancient heritage of the Chinese people residing at India’s only Chinatown at Tangra seems to ardently worship Goddess Kali in their own spiritual essence. With noodles served in the holy prasad, no wonder India’s only Chinese Kali Bari is worth every mentioning.
India is a secular country and the country is all about different religions and cultures. Its diversity is what makes the country so unique. However, there are hundreds of temples in the country and all of them follow a simple process. The priests/caretakers hand out different types of prasad to visitors or devotees. In temples, the most common Prasad is Laddoo. However, there is a very distinct temple in West Bengal’s capital Kolkata, where priests don’t offer your regular sweet as Prasad but offer noodles and chop suey to the worshippers.
The temple is called ‘Chinese Kali Temple’. In this area, one can see a blend of Tibetan and East Asian culture, making it a good tourist attraction. The temple and the idol look the same as in any other Goddess Kali temple in India. The thing that makes it unique is the Prasad first offered to Goddess and later distributed among devotees. Chinese cuisine like noodles, chop suey, sticky rice, and various other dishes are also offered to Goddess Kali in this temple.
According to media 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 build the Chinese Kali temple in Tangra, Kolkata.
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