basIcally books - Overseas Indian

travelHastinapurin argentinaA curious little place in the Argentine pampas calls itself Hastinapur.The Indian link is evident in its architecture, temples, statues...tucked away somewhere in Argentina is a smallcampus that evokes memories of the Pandavas, theheroes of the epic Mahabharata — it goes by thename of Hastinapur. Thousands of miles away fromthe battle-scarred capital city of Bharata’s descendents,this small ‘city’ is all serenity and peace itself.Situated about 50 km from the Argentine capital of BuenosAires, Hastinapur is a 12-acre residential complex; it is alsohome to about a dozen temples dedicated to Hindu gods andgoddesses. The peace that prevails here and the fragrantincense in the temples immediately transport visitors to adifferent spiritual world. True to the atmosphere prevailingon the campus, the website maintained by the HastinapurFoundation describes it as the Ciudad de la Sabiduría(city of wisdom).The website says: “Hastinapura means City of Wisdom,and although it lies within human beings, they must learn toconquer it. This can be achieved through the right knowledge,right action and devotion.”“The dozen Argentines who live there look after the godsand the place. During weekends, with visitors coming in, thepopulace swells to over a hundred,” says R. Viswanathan,India’s ambassador to Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.A large number of the visitors on the campus are therein search of peace and ‘wisdom’. “Many Argentines visitHastinapur as a retreat from the hectic life of Buenos Aires,”says Viswanathan. They meditate and read books onphilosophy in the quiet natural environment of Hastinapur.Keeping them company are the statues of gods and goddesses,some in their temples, others spread over the garden.The majestic statues include those of Ganesha, Krishna,Surya, Narayana and Shiva. The place is quite eclectic inits religious persuasion and has temples dedicated to theBuddha, Virgin Mary and Greek goddess Demeter, in additionto those of Hindu gods and goddesses. Not only that, thereA statue of Ganesha chiselled by the residents at Hastinapur44 Pravasi Bharatiya July 2011