{"id":84630,"date":"2020-04-14T11:07:56","date_gmt":"2020-04-14T09:07:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/?p=84630"},"modified":"2020-04-14T11:07:56","modified_gmt":"2020-04-14T09:07:56","slug":"retracing-srila-prabhupadas-steps-in-chippiwada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/?p=84630","title":{"rendered":"Retracing Srila Prabhupada&#8217;s Steps in Chippiwada"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-size:12px;color: #900e0e;font-weight:bold;font-style:italic\">From Back to Godhead<\/p>\n<div class=\"field field-type-text field-field-by-line\">\n<div class=\"field-items\">\n<div class=\"field-item odd\">\n<p>By Hladini Devi Dasi<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"field field-type-text field-field-lead-in\">\n<div class=\"field-items\">\n<div class=\"field-item odd\">\n<p><em>Residents of old Delhi recall Srila Prabhupada\u2019s time spent in Chippiwada between 1963 and 1965 as he prepared to embark on his mission to the West.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/wp-content\/uploads72\/535_Hladini_23a.jpg\"  align=\"left\"  \/> <\/p>\n<p>Sri Sri Radha-Vallabha Temple, Chippiwada, Delhi, 1960, excerpt of visitors-book entry:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"extract\">\n<p>I am pleased to write herein that I have come to Delhi from my H.Q. 1\/859 Kesi Ghat, Vrindaban (U.P.) purely on spiritual mission to propagate the cult of devotional service of the Lord. . . . In my opinion temples are centres for educating the public         in spiritual values and I have a mission to organize all temples for that spiritual education. Temples are not meant for ordinary householders engaged simply in the matters of animal propensities. Those who are actually engaged in the service         of the Lord Deity, the predominator of the temple, can only be allowed to remain in the temple, otherwise not.<br \/>I am in the service of the Lord,<br \/>A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami<br \/>Editor, Author, &amp; Preacher in Transcendental Science<br \/>Delhi,         18 September, 1960<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/files.krishna.com\/2019\/09-Sep\/535_Hladini_23b.jpg\" class=\"left\"> <\/p>\n<p>In 2012, Brahmananda Dasa, one of Srila Prabhupada&#8217;s first disciples, expressed to me his desire that someone research and publish literature on Srila Prabhupada\u2019s pastimes in Old Delhi during the early 1960s. Deciding to fulfill Brahmananda\u2019s wish, I     took on the challenge of retracing Srila Prabhupada\u2019s steps in the traditional publishing district of Old Delhi, known as Chippiwada.<\/p>\n<h3>Old Delhi<\/h3>\n<p>During Srila Prabhupada\u2019s visits to Old Delhi in the early 1960s, he was often accommodated by different businessmen who observed the tradition in Indian culture of being charitable to sadhus. Having sojourned in various premises within Old Delhi districts     such as Chippiwada and Nai Sarak, he was eventually offered a more permanent dwelling by Pandit Sri Krishna Sharma, Honorary Secretary to the century-old religious society Sri Nawal Prem Sabha. Prabhupada\u2019s room was on the second floor of a small     temple in a narrow lane off Chah Rahat Street in Chippiwada. There Srila Prabhupada would spend many hours translating <em>Srimad-Bhagavatam<\/em> and writing articles for his <em>Back to Godhead<\/em> magazine, as well as preparing for his journey     to the USA. He simultaneously maintained his rooms at Sri Sri Radha-Damodara temple in Vrindavan, commuting between the two premises.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/files.krishna.com\/2019\/09-Sep\/535_Hladini_23c.jpg\" class=\"left\"> <\/p>\n<p>Chippiwada is a locality within the greater Chandni Chowk district of Old Delhi in which publishers, printers, book-binders, and paper-merchants have been running their businesses for hundreds of years. In the narrow streets in this district, tradesmen     can today still be seen carrying out work tasks in much the same manner as they did before the current era of digital information and technology. In the cramped tapered lanes surrounding Chah Rahat Street, rickshaw peddlers fill their rickshaws to     the brim with all types of paper goods, while those on foot carry large loads of paper on their heads and shoulders as they run through the streets delivering their bundles to merchants.<\/p>\n<h3>Sri Sri Radha-Vallabha Mandir<\/h3>\n<p>It is estimated that Sri Sri Radha-Vallabha, who preside over this small Vaishnava temple in which Srila Prabhupada would spend countless hours translating and typing, were first installed on their altar 125 years ago. K. C. Sharma, who lived in the adjoining     building, had been one of seven trustees of the temple, while his father had in turn organized the carving of the deities. The black stone from which Lord Vallabha is carved is known as a <em>kasauti<\/em> stone, traditionally used by jewellers in     India to test the purity of gold. Radharani was carved from white marble.<\/p>\n<p>Although much of the exterior of the temple building has progressively deteriorated and repeatedly been renovated over the many decades, the inner altar chamber appears much as it did more than a century ago. Srila Prabhupada\u2019s room was situated directly     above the altar, and on its marble floor stood a pyramid-shaped structure above the deities to prevent anyone from standing there. The room opened up onto an open-air terrace-style rooftop that surrounded the room.<\/p>\n<p>On 19 August 2011, this building was legally transferred to ISKCON, whose members now care for it.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/files.krishna.com\/2019\/09-Sep\/535_Hladini_24a.jpg\" class=\"left\"><\/p>\n<h3>Srila Prabhupada Arrives<\/h3>\n<p>My visit to Chippiwada ISKCON was preceded by some rudimentary arrangements made for my research. Devotees at the temple had contacted people in the Delhi region who had interacted with Srila Prabhupada during his tenure there in the 1960s. Understandably,     most of them were now elderly, but their memories of Srila Prabhupada had remained intact. Perhaps the most striking person I encountered was Shrikant Vedi, who as a boy had lived at the Chippiwada temple at the same time as Srila Prabhupada. Shrikant     Vedi has many memories of his time spent with Srila Prabhupada, and he was happy to share them with me.<\/p>\n<p>According to Shrikant Vedi, Sri Sri Radha-Vallabha\u2019s temple was built in the late 1800s for his grandmother Srimati Subhadra Vedi, who required a suitable place of worship. Subhadra had been a medical doctor, freedom fighter, and guru with a substantial     number of followers. One of her followers had donated the land on which the temple was progressively established according to her instructions. Regular <em>Bhagavad-gita <\/em>classes were held at the temple, and annual Rathayatra festivals were inaugurated.<\/p>\n<p>Then in the late 1950s, at the age of eleven, Shrikant Vedi along with his mother and sister took up residence at the temple to care for the aging Subhadra. Subhadra had been using the same room that Srila Prabhupada was given. Vacating the room, Subhadra     left behind a library of religious books written in Sanskrit, Hindi, and English, some which Srila Prabhupada would read.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/files.krishna.com\/2019\/09-Sep\/535_Hladini_25.jpg\" class=\"left\"> <\/p>\n<p>Shrikant Vedi remembers the day Prabhupada first arrived at the temple. He was fourteen years old, and had opened the door to receive Prabhupada:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"extract\">\n<p>When Prabhupadaji first came I had opened the door for him at night around 2:00 a.m. I was still wearing my nightclothes. I had the keys to his room. I was told that Swamiji is going to come. He was addressed as Swamiji then. . . . He had with him         a stove, aluminium plate, <em>lota<\/em>, pressure cooker, <em>karatalas<\/em>, <em>manjira <\/em>[another kind of hand cymbals], and <em>mridanga<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Shrikant Vedi tells how Srila Prabhupada \u201calways treated us like kids\u201d and that he regarded Shrikant Vedi as his own son. The Vedi family tended to Srila Prabhupada&#8217;s needs, and he in turn affectionately gave them all nicknames.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"extract\">\n<p>My whole family was looking after him, as and when required. My mother was providing food and preparing meals, so Prabhupadaji called her \u201cBaby Ki Ma&#8221; [&#8220;Baby&#8217;s Mother&#8221;]. \u201cBaby\u201d was the nickname of my younger sister, and my nickname was \u201cBabu.&#8221; I was         helping him in his day-to-day work.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3>Life at the Temple<\/h3>\n<p>During his stay at Sri Sri Radha-Vallabha temple, Srila Prabhupada would rise at 3:00 a.m.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe never took a bath in hot water,&#8221; says Shrikant Vedi. &#8220;He always bathed in cold water in all seasons.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After bathing, Prabhupada would do <em>kirtana<\/em> up until 7:00 a.m. He would chant the <em>maha-mantra<\/em> by himself, often accompanied by a <em>mridanga<\/em>, <em>chimta,<\/em> or <em>jhanjhar <\/em>(percussion instruments). He would then start typing.     Between 9:00 and 10:00 a.m. he would go out for his routine chores and come back just before noon and take a short nap. Sometimes Srila Prabhupada would offer the 7:00 p.m. <em>arati<\/em> to Sri Sri Radha-Vallabha, and at other times Shrikant Vedi\u2019s     mother, Shakuntala, would do it. He rarely gave classes, as he spoke in polished English, which few Old Delhi residents could understand.<\/p>\n<p>The 150-year-old building that shoulders Sri Sri Radha-Vallabha\u2019s temple to the left of the entrance is owned by the Sharma family. Sisters Seema and Savita Sharma remember their interaction with Srila Prabhupada in the 1960s. They were young girls and     fascinated by the \u201celderly guru from Bengal.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/files.krishna.com\/2019\/09-Sep\/535_Hladini_26a.jpg\" class=\"left\"> <\/p>\n<p>Says Savita, \u201cWe were kids then and used to take his carbon paper for his typewriter and run away. He used to never yell or shout at us. He used to affectionately take his carbon paper back and give us a new one [<em>giggles<\/em>].&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Savita, then six years old, remembers how playful and affectionate Srila Prabhupada was with them. She and her sister would deliver one bottle of milk every day to Prabhupada, as her father worked for the Delhi Milk Scheme. But the delivery of this milk     was done in a rather unusual way. Cut into the wall that separated the two premises was a small entryway that had long ago been abandoned, with the surrounding wall remodeled. The entryway was too small for adults to fit through, but the Sharma sisters     would easily climb through to deliver Srila Prabhupada\u2019s milk. Savita Sharma remembers Srila Prabhupada\u2019s gentle and friendly nature.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"extract\">\n<p>He used to give the children very nice instructions. Whenever he saw them coming back from playing, he would tell them, \u201cStudy well and take the Lord\u2019s name.\u201d . . . In the evenings he walked around and around on the roof. He was very polite. When         you spoke to him, it felt very much as if someone from your own family, your own person, was speaking with you. . . . He was the gentleman amongst gentlemen, never interfering in anyone else\u2019s business. Just he did his worship and translated his         books, his <em>Gita<\/em>. . . . He used to address us by our home names or nicknames. My name was \u201cBhalo\u201d [&#8220;Good One&#8221;].<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In addition to Shrikant Vedi, his sister Alka, and the Sharma girls from next door, other neighborhood children, such as Usha and Sri Ram Sharma from Sita Ram Bazar, would also come into Sri Sri Radha-Vallabha\u2019s temple hall to play. Srila Prabhupada would     relate Radha and Krishna\u2019s pastimes and ask the children to participate in enacting some drama in front of the deities.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/files.krishna.com\/2019\/09-Sep\/535_Hladini_26b.jpg\" class=\"left\"> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis door was always open,&#8221; Usha remembers. &#8220;He used to sit on his mat and just keep typing. He used to give me sweets, and he called me \u201cGudiya\u201d (&#8220;Little Doll&#8221;).<\/p>\n<p>During his stay at Sri Sri Radha-Vallabha temple, Srila Prabhupada would often prepare <em>kichari<\/em> for himself, as well as for others frequenting the temple, including Pandit Sri Krishna Sharma.<\/p>\n<p>Shrikant Vedi remembers: \u201cI used to chop vegetables, but he used to cook. He used to feed us as well. He used to jokingly say, \u2018I do all the work, you eat.\u2019&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Chotey Lal Pandeyji, a <em>pujari<\/em> from a <em>kshatriya<\/em> Vaishnava temple situated immediately across the lane, also remembers Prabhupada serving out cooked <em>prasadam<\/em>, as well as fruits and nuts. \u201cI was really greedy for the <em>prasadam.<\/em>    . . . I was also then really attached to him.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Chotey Lal was a teenager at that time, and on occasion he would bring milk for Prabhupada simply \u201cout of love for him.&#8221; Prabhupada would greet Chotey Lal with \u201cHari, Hari\u201d and try to teach him <em>kirtana<\/em>, but Chotey Lal didn\u2019t understand much of     what Prabhupada said.<\/p>\n<p>During his tenure at Sri Sri Radha-Vallabha temple, it seems that Srila Prabhupada evoked deep emotions in those with whom he interacted.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/files.krishna.com\/2019\/09-Sep\/535_Hladini_26c.jpg\" class=\"left\"> <\/p>\n<p>Says Manjula Sharma, the daughter-in-law of Pandit Sri Krishna Sharma, \u201cMy husband was very devoted to Prabhupada. That\u2019s all I know. He used to start crying every time they spoke about Prabhupada.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>During our interview with Shrikant Vedi, he could not hold back the tears in recalling his memories of his time spent with Srila Prabhupada.<\/p>\n<h3>Chippiwada Kalan<\/h3>\n<p>Although Srila Prabhupada rarely bought cooked food from street vendors, on occasion he would buy <em>jalebis<\/em> at an eatery called Madhuras, at Kannad Place, a short walk from Sri Sri Radha-Vallabha temple. This <em>jalebi<\/em> shop remains today,     but has been refurbished, as has the general merchant store on the main junction off Chah Rahat Street, from which Prabhupada would buy odd items.<\/p>\n<p>Not far from Chah Rahat Street stands a small coal shop, which today operates much in the same way that it did in the 1960s. Shrikant Vedi comments: \u201cNormally I went alone to collect the kerosene and coal, but he also went several times . . . during the     winter season.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/files.krishna.com\/2019\/09-Sep\/535_Hladini_27a.jpg\" class=\"left\"> <\/p>\n<p>During this time, Srila Prabhupada was known in the Chippiwada Kalan district as \u201cBengali Baba\u201d because he had come from West Bengal.<\/p>\n<p>In the Dariba Kalan district remains a typewriter shop from which Shrikant Vedi would purchase typewriter ribbons and cyclostyle papers for Srila Prabhupada. This shopfront, which Prabhupada would also visit, belonged to Remco Type Writing Company. But     it was from the Chopra typewriting company close by that Prabhupada bought a small portable Remington typewriter for thirty rupees.<\/p>\n<p>Other businesses frequented by Srila Prabhupada included paper merchants such as Munshi Lal &amp; Sons and Siddho Mal &amp; Sons, both still in operation today in the Chippiwada Kalan district. In the many winding lanes surrounding Sri Sri Radha-Vallabha     temple, numerous petite paper-merchant shopfronts maintain their traditional workplace ambience. These worn and haggard lanes were once blessed by the footsteps of Srila Prabhupada in his endeavor to fulfill his spiritual master\u2019s request to disseminate     Krishna conscious literature to the entire world. As I meandered my way past the tapestry of dilapidated manmade structures concealing memories of the activities of Krishna\u2019s empowered representative, I was overcome by the thought of the privilege     bestowed upon the local residents.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/files.krishna.com\/2019\/09-Sep\/535_Hladini_27b.jpg\" class=\"left\"> <\/p>\n<p>During his time at Sri Sri Radha-Vallabha temple, Srila Prabhupada never consulted allopathic doctors for his health. When he once was ill with tick paralysis, he visited the Ayurvedic store Chotey Lal Hakeem on Chah Rahat Street, a short walk from the     temple. This clinic is still in operation today, handed down from father to son, Ram Jain. During the time Ram Jain treated Srila Prabhupada for the illness, he visited Prabhupada in his room at Sri Sri Radha-Vallabha temple.<\/p>\n<h3>Translating, Writing, and Printing<\/h3>\n<p>Shrikant Vedi would go into Srila Prabhupada\u2019s room every day, offering to help him carry out menial and routine tasks. He remembers the many hours Prabhupada spent typing in his room, with other activities being given less attention.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"extract\">\n<p><u>Hladini<\/u>: Did he eat anything at night?<\/p>\n<p><u>Shrikant Vedi<\/u>: No, he drank water and slept. He woke up and again started typing. . . . He used to sleep less. If he got an idea while sleeping, he would wake up and start typing again. He used to directly write on the typewriter. He never         had any rough notes.<\/p>\n<p><u>H<\/u>: Did Prabhupada ask for help with typing?<\/p>\n<p><u>SV<\/u>: No, I offered to help him. He was constantly typing. There was no fixed time. . . . He had a Remington typewriter. It was really small, and Prabhupada used to type with one finger, but I used to type with both hands, as I was a typist.         Seventy-five percent was typed by him, and the remainder by me, as I was also working then. I used to type, but Prabhupadaji used to correct them, as his English was really tough. . . . I would type for <em>Back to Godhead<\/em> magazine, just         local papers.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cBaby\u201d Vedi, Shrikant Vedi\u2019s sister, remembers how their mother would at times yell at them to be quiet so that Srila Prabhupada could concentrate on his writing. When Prabhupada eventually printed his first volume of <em>Srimad-Bhagavatam<\/em>, he gave     an autographed copy to Shakuntala, in gratitude for the services she carried out for him. He also gifted her a small set of Radha-Krishna deities (with <em>asana<\/em>) and a small Laddu Gopala deity, which were later passed on to Shrikant Vedi.<\/p>\n<p>At times, Shrikant Vedi helped Prabhupada carry his typed notes to printers in the Kamla Nagar district, a brisk one-hour walk from Chippiwada.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"extract\">\n<p>Prabhupadaji used to ask for help, and then I used to carry papers with a coolie, as he used to get the work done faster. Some papers on my shoulders, and some on his. They [Prabhupada\u2019s typed manuscripts] used to be printed on big newspapers in black         ink. He used to do corrections again with a pen, and then finally it went for [the final] printing. . . . Then after the printing, we used to bring them back.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Srila Prabhupada had tried various ways to generate interest in his <em>Back to Godhead<\/em> magazine. First, he would cut the template stencil for each issue and print hundreds of copies. He would then offer potential buyers a hundred copies for one     rupee, but in the words of Shrikant Vedi, &#8220;It was difficult to sell copies. Being a Bengali, his English was polished and people didn\u2019t understand that. Hence, we used to give them away for free or donate. If nothing worked, we used to accumulate     those copies.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/files.krishna.com\/2019\/09-Sep\/535_Hladini_27c.jpg\" class=\"left\"> <\/p>\n<p>Srila Prabhupada was a learned Bengali and had a good command of English, whereas the residents of Old Delhi were mainly businessmen and not highly educated. Despite his substantial successes in <em>Srimad-Bhagavatam<\/em> sales to institutions such as     libraries and the U.S. Embassy, Prabhupada was not recognized by the local citizens, and his efforts to distribute his publications in the Old Delhi district became frustrated. In early1965 he became so discouraged that he simply wanted to give up.     But his determination to disseminate the teachings of <em>Srimad-Bhagavatam<\/em> continued, despite the discouraging response from provincial Old Delhi inhabitants.<\/p>\n<p>Shrikant Vedi remembers:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"extract\">\n<p>We used to go walking to the printer, as we had no money. During those days the ride used to be for one penny. But we had no funds. And then we used to return back to the room and do the corrections. This is how his books got printed. We kept the         price of the book as Rs.100 initially, but no one purchased it. And this was because no one understood English. Then Prabhupadaji gave it away for free, but no one took it still. Then he dropped the prices to Rs. 58, then Rs. 51, then Rs. 21,         but no one took it. We used to stand at the <em>jalebi<\/em> stall near the hospital.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Although the agreement between Srila Prabhupada and Pandit Sri Krishna Sharma was that the rent for Prabhupada\u2019s room should be two rupees per month, Sri Krishna Sharma would at times himself contribute to Prabhupada\u2019s expenses. In deference to Srila     Prabhupada\u2019s preaching mission, Sri Krishna Sharma also at times assisted Prabhupada in certain business aspects of his <em>Back to Godhead<\/em> magazine. As a token of his appreciation for the various services rendered to him by Sri Krishna Sharma,     Srila Prabhupada gave him the name Hari-bhaktanudasa, &#8220;one who serves the Lord&#8217;s devotee.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/files.krishna.com\/2019\/09-Sep\/535_Hladini_28a.jpg\" class=\"left\"><\/p>\n<h3>Radha Press and O.K. Press<\/h3>\n<p>In Vrindavan, Srila Prabhupada had befriended a Vaishnava by the name of Sri Krishna Gopal Sharma, whose son Hitsaran Sharma owned the printery Radha Press in Delhi. It was Hitsaran who first introduced Prabhupada to Pandit Sri Krishna Sharma, who offered     him his room at Sri Sri Radha-Vallabha temple. Today, Radha Press is run by Vanchi Vallabh, Hitsaran\u2019s son.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"extract\">\n<p>My grandfather\u2019s name was Sri Krishna Gopal Sharma. . . . He used to revere and respect the sadhus, the <em>sannyasis<\/em>, the saintly people, because he is from Vrindavan. And when Swamiji [Srila Prabhupada] came to Vrindavan, he firstly lived in         the association of my grandfather. . . . At that time, we [the Sharma family] were connected to the Gaudiya Matha from Kolkata, because the Gaudiya <em>sampradaya<\/em> is very old in Vrindavan. It goes way back. Bhaktisiddhanta [Sarasvati Thakura]         and others were running the Gaudiya mission, and we were connected to the Kolkata Gaudiya Matha in Vrindavan.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In the early 1960s, Srila Prabhupada\u2019s main endeavor had been to publish the first few cantos of <em>Srimad-Bhagavatam <\/em>in English, and Hitsaran became highly instrumental in this endeavor. But according to Vanchi Vallabh, his grandfather had been     concerned that Prabhupada\u2019s mission might demand too much of Hitsaran\u2019s time.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"extract\">\n<p>Actually, my grandfather did not want him to meet his son, my father, in Delhi. \u201cDon\u2019t disturb my son in Delhi.\u201d But when he lived at Chippiwada, he used to come to our house in those days right here in this very place.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Srila Prabhupada would often spend the entire day visiting Hitsaran and his family. Vanchi Vallabh felt that Prabhupada bestowed many blessings upon them, and that Prabhupada, in various ways, extended his love to them. They reciprocated by trying to     support him in his printing efforts, as well as in his personal life.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"extract\">\n<p>He used to request my mom to make <em>kadhi<\/em> and rice. My mom used to go out of her way to fulfill his request. He used to address my mom as \u201cMaa.&#8221; This [geographical] area was a jungle then. The river Yamuna used to flow from here, and it was         pure then. It has now become a drainage. Prabhupadaji, with a bag in his hand, used to cross the river on the old bridge to reach our house.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>After receiving a substantial monetary donation from another religious publisher, Hanuman Prasad Poddar, Srila Prabhupada had approached Hitsaran Sharma to begin printing. But Radha Press only had the small ten-point lettering, whereas Srila Prabhupada     wanted the larger twelve-point. Hitsaran then agreed to take Prabhupada\u2019s work to another printery in Churiwalan, Delhi, by the name of O.K. Press, run by a Mr. Kanshiram and his son Omkar. Progressively, Srila Prabhupada spent more and more time     visiting O.K Press, overseeing the various stages of the printing.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/files.krishna.com\/2019\/09-Sep\/535_Hladini_28b.jpg\" class=\"left\"><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/files.krishna.com\/2019\/09-Sep\/535_Hladini_28c.jpg\" class=\"left\"><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/files.krishna.com\/2019\/09-Sep\/535_Hladini_29a.jpg\" class=\"left\"><\/p>\n<p>When Srila Prabhupada departed for the USA in 1965, he took with him the first three volumes of <em>Srimad-Bhagavatam<\/em>, printed by O.K. Press. His &#8220;spiritual mission to propagate the cult of devotional service of the Lord,&#8221; as he had defined it in     1960, would truly flourish in &#8220;educating the public in spiritual values.&#8221; These first publications of <em>Srimad-Bhagavatam<\/em> opened the door for the resurgence of the timeless wisdom of the <em>Vedas<\/em> to reach the hearts of the world&#8217;s varied     populations.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you, Srila Prabhupada, and thank you Brahmananda Prabhu, for engaging me in this truly amazing service.<\/p>\n<p><em>The author wishes to thank the following for their assistance: Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, for his books <\/em>Srila Prabhupada-lilamrita<em> and <\/em>Prabhupada: Your Ever Well-Wisher<em>, the devotees at Chippiwada ISKCON, and all the interviewees who participated in her research, with a special thanks to Shrikant Vedi.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/files.krishna.com\/2019\/09-Sep\/535_Hladini_29b.jpg\" class=\"left\"><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/files.krishna.com\/2019\/09-Sep\/535_Hladini_30a.jpg\" class=\"left\"><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/files.krishna.com\/2019\/09-Sep\/535_Hladini_30b.jpg\" class=\"left\"><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/files.krishna.com\/2019\/09-Sep\/535_Hladini_31a.jpg\" class=\"left\"><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/files.krishna.com\/2019\/09-Sep\/535_Hladini_31b.jpg\" class=\"left\"><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/files.krishna.com\/2019\/09-Sep\/535_Hladini_31c.jpg\" class=\"left\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/wp-content\/uploads72\/535_Hladini_23a.jpg\"  align=\"left\"  \/><img src= \"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/4kz8xxG.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Residents of old Delhi recall Srila Prabhupada\u2019s time spent in Chippiwada between 1963 and 1965 as he prepared to embark on his mission to the West.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[118],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84630","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-recent-media"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84630","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=84630"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84630\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=84630"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=84630"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=84630"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}