Subhasish Chakraborty

Religious Tourism in the Native Land of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa Subhasish Chakraborty

The villages of Kamarpukur and Joyrambati being the native places of Bhagavan Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa and his holy consort Sri Sarada Devi are amongst the most holy places of pilgrimage in the Indian state of West Bengal. These two villages are not only visited by pilgrims from India but a large number of visitors from abroad too pour in during the peak touristy season in search of inner peace and tranquility. Renowned international scholars of the stature of Romain Rolland and Max Muller have unequivocally stated in many of their scholarly works that modern India?s spiritual regeneration began with the birth of Sri Ramakrishna. Tourism in the Gar Mandaran-Kamarpukur-Joyrambati tourist circuit has to be human. After all, one of the greatest human exemplar of ?Living in Harmony with Nature? was Sri Ramakrishna himself. Thus, it would be in the fitness of things that his native village acts as a torch bearer of ?Sustainable Rural Tourism? and show the path of eternal bliss and tranquility through a tourism phenomenon, which is rooted in the platform of sustainability. Hari Om Ramakrishna!