The administration of Makrapara Kali Temple in Birpara, Alipurduar district of West Bengal does not have to pay the electricity bill, which is being taken care of by the royal Government of Bhutan round the year. Although it may sound surprising, but this is true and it has been going on since the British era!

Makrapara Kali Temple is just 5 meters away from the Bhutan border. The neighbouring country Bhutan has been paying the electricity bill of this temple since the British era. The residents of Bhutan are also seen taking care of the maintenance of the Kali Temple.

Makrapara Kali Temple is a sacred religious site for the Buddhist residents of Bhutan. Whenever the temple is renovated or painted before Kali Puja, the residents of Bhutan supplying cement and paint. Makrapara Kali Temple is a sacred religious site for Buddhist Bhutanese people.

Animal sacrifice discontinued

This temple had a tradition of animal sacrifice since the British era. However, animal sacrifice is no longer practiced. It was stopped 10 years ago.

Currently, tender coconuts are sacrificed in this temple on the occasion of Kali Puja which coincides with Diwali. The sacrifice is performed at midnight.

Temple priest Sandeep Chakraborty said, “In the previous times, this temple, which was earlier located elsewhere, often got destroyed by elephant attacks. The temple was built on a hill at a safe distance from the plains in 1950. There was no electricity connection in this area when the temple was built. The Bhutanese government took the initiative to provide electricity connection. No meter was even installed for the electricity of the temple because the bill is taken care of by Bhutan. That tradition continues even today.”

Kali is a prominent Hindu goddess, worshiped as the Divine Mother and the supreme feminine energy (Shakti) in traditions like Shaktism and Tantra. Many people come to visit this temple from far and wide, which has also been visited by veteran Bollywood star Hema Malini.

Religion of Bhutan

Vajrayana Buddhism, the official religion of Bhutan, is rooted in Tibetan Buddhism and features a complex array of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and protector deities, or Dharmapalas. The majority Buddhist population of Bhutan does not worship Goddess Kali. As the country’s state religion, Vajrayana Buddhism focuses on its own pantheon of deities, including the wrathful protector Mahakala, who is a distinct figure from the Hindu goddess Kali. Other central Buddhist deities in Bhutan include Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava), Avalokiteshvara, and Vajrakilaya.

However, Worship of Goddess Kali exists within a small Hindu minority, primarily among people of Nepalese descent, known as Lhotshampas, who live in southern Bhutan. Lhotshampas, the ethnic Nepalese community in Bhutan, are predominantly Hindu. Devi Puja, a ritual devoted to Hindu goddesses, is a thriving tradition in southern Bhutan where the Lhotshampa people are concentrated. This is the community where the worship of Goddess Kali and other Hindu deities would be found.

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