Kali Bari Mayur Vihar Phase-1 - New Delhi

MayurVihar is a residential area situated in the eastern part of Delhi, across the Yamuna River of the main city of Delhi. The area was developed by Delhi Development Authority (DDA) in 1980, mainly organized into Pockets I to V with residential flats. First immigrants were mainly in Pocket I and Pocket II in early 1980s. Many Bengali families also shifted their dwelling to this colony by 1981. Like other Indian communities, Bengalis also love to remain socially active by celebrating their traditional religious and cultural activities. These activities help the families to bind together and also inculcate greater sense of cultural values among the younger generations.

In the year 1981, by God’s blessings, thirty-seven Bengali families living in the colony came together and met at the residence of Mr. A K Mukherjee (64B, Pocket I) with a common objective. The objective is to celebrate Bengali festivals to keep them connected with the Bengali culture. The meeting was fruitful and joint effort from the family members of all these thirty-seven families made it possible to organize the first Saraswati Puja in 1982. This was followed by other major pujas, Durga Puja and Kali Puja was also celebrated that year with equal enthusiasm and devotion. These events were organized in temporary places, such as in the park of Pocket I and II. The need of that hour was to find a permanent place for organizing these activities. An auspicious idea developed and it was decided to finalize a permanent spot to build the home for Goddess Kali. A supervising committee was formed to work towards the new goal, to construct Kali Bari.

There are always few leaders among the team. Mr. P K Das took the baton in his hand with added zeal and devotion. Mr. Das, along with Mr. S M Ali, met Honorable Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Mr. H K L Bhagat. The discussion wasextremely rewarding, Mr. Bhagat appreciated the efforts and recommended the matter to DDA for allotment of land. Mr. Das and Mr. Ali dedicatedly followed the matter with DDA and with immense help from Mr. J P Sarkar from DDA, were able to find a suitable place for construction of Kali Bari in the year 1984. The next big hurdle was to arrange for the finances required to build the structure. The member families, by then it was around 90, joined hands against all odds and collected limited funds to construct a hutment with tent roof top and earthen floor. The deity of Goddess Kali was installed and the temple was inaugurated by Mr. H K L Bhagat on 22 December 1984.

Since 1984, Durga Puja, Kali Puja and Saraswati Puja are organized in the same premises. Incremental changes or more appropriately “gradual developments” took place every year. In 1985, the tent roof top was replaced with asbestos roof. A separate committee was formed to look after the daily administration activities related to the temple. The committee is named as “Kali Bari MayurVihar” Committee and the temple is known as KBMV Complex. With passing time, a priest (Mr. Dilip Chakraborty) is appointed for performing daily rituals. A boundary wall was constructed. A play ground was made. The responsibilities changed from one committee to another and number of members increased every year. On 10 December 2003, the working body was registered with Registrar of Societies as “Kali Bari MayurViharSamiti (KBMVS)”. During 2003 to 2017, more construction took place and new complexes were added, namely, DurgaMandap, Krishna Mandir, BhogGhar, Office Ghar, Sant Niwas and Toilet Complex.

The current working committee has new challenges to face and new commitments to fulfill. The dimension of challenges has changed with the growing number of member families. Currently, more than 800 plus life members and many other member families are part of KBMVS. A small step taken by few like-minded people in 1981 has created a big group, who are dedicated to service the Society with the blessings of Maa Kali.