Hindu Holy Place Altered by Technology, Development, Pollution

Vrindavan, India--For centuries, this 27-square-mile town on the road from Delhi to Agra has been the holiest of holy places for devotional Hindus. Drums, brass hand cymbals, and the chanting of ancient prayers echo out each morning from Vrindavan's 5,000 temples.

Yet recent changes such as satellite television, digital phone service, and real estate development have brought this medieval site on the banks of the Yamuna River into the 21st century. Not everyone is happy with the transition.

"It is a painful subject," says Shrivatsa Goswami, whose family traces its roots to Vrindavan's 16th-century restorers. "In those days, this place had the most beautiful riverside architecture in India's history. It was like a miniature painting come alive."

Goswami notes that previous generations of temple authorities understood the importance of holy places and took responsibility for their maintenance. Today, he says, that sense of stewardship is absent.

"Many religious leaders here have a narrow view," Goswami says. "They don't see the universality of their own message. They don't see how a sacred site such as this can inspire people of all faiths. What they see is commercial opportunities, and the result is garbage and sewage backing up. In a few more years, my own children will not want to come here."

Beginning in the 17th century, Moguls and other invading forces razed Vrindavan's temple domes and left the town in architectural ruin. But according to Goswami, the real damage began with India's independence in 1947. Rather than return to its spiritual roots, the nation became a secular industrial power. India's cultural heritage in general, and holy places in particular, suffered.

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