Bengal Beats the Big Mridanga
by Madhava Smullen
The Bengali BBT emerged in Mayapur in 1977 to humble beginnings. OnlyBhagavad Darshan, a monthly Bengali edition of Back to Godhead magazine, and several small booklets, gave any hint of what was to come.
When Shyama-Rupa Dasa joined the team in 1984, things hadn’t gotten much grander. “In those days, the BBT offices were crammed into one room,” he says. “We also had a press with two small printing machines, and a city office near the Kolkota temple.F
But only a few of Srila Prabhupada’s books had been translated into Bengali, and we had to use both our Mayapur Press and an outside offset press in Kolkata to print them.”
Still, Shyama-Rupa considered himself fortunate. Originally from Kolkata, Srila Prabhupada’s birthplace, he was sure that working for the BBT had always been in the stars for him. This destiny was only further confirmed when he joined ISKCON and authorities immediately gave him BBT work as his first service.
But it was hearing a quote from Srila Prabhupada, “The BBT is my heart and soul,” that really sealed the deal for him. From then on, Shyama-Rupa decided he wanted it to be his heart and soul, too.
“Once in the old BBT days, before I became a manager,” he recalls, “My co-devotee Brihat Kirtan Prabhu, one worker named Asit, and I were still printing at 1a.m. at night. Suddenly my Guru Maharaja, Jayapataka Swami, entered our press room. ‘Why are you printing so late at night?’ he asked.
‘Tomorrow is the mailing date for our newspaper, Hare Krishna Sankirtan Samachar,’ we answered, ‘But the printing has not been finished yet. So here we are.’”
“Guru Maharaja was pleased, and blessed us, ‘Please continue throughout your whole life with this sincerity, and you will be perfectly serving Srila Prabhupada.’”
This blessing made Shyama-Rupa determined to continue his service for as long as possible. “It is Srila Prabhupada’s mercy that he has granted my desire,” he says now. “And I’m still here.”
And we’re glad he is. Now the General Manager and official publisher, he’s seen the Bengali BBT grow into something Srila Prabhupada would be truly proud of.
