DU’s Lakshmibai College plans yagyashala to hold regular havans

The yagyashala, still in the last stages of being ready, will be the latest addition to the Gokul. “It will become operational in the Chaitra month. We are yet to think about when we can hold yagnas but I have some ideas in mind. For example, every day we would have at least some students’ birthday, so yagnas can be held for that occasion. It is known that performing yagna purifies air. That is our ultimate aim. In the future, we also hope to install some mechanism through which we can research and study what has been the impact of these yagnas in improving air quality around,” she said.

The site also has a medicinal garden, an organic farming site, compost pits, a wetland site, waste recycle station and fruit orchard. There is also a natural water filtering and harvesting system, as well as a mushroom farming centre.

The college also holds a daily ritual of chanting the Bhagavad Gita which is open for all, and a monthly Tuesday programme of Sunderkand Path too. “Extending the idea of the Gokul, which we feel is a connection between the traditional and the modern, we also hold daily Bhagavad Gita reading at 4 pm for the non-teaching staff in our meditation room. This is open for all – students, teachers, everyone. A bell is installed at the gate which rings a few minutes before 4 pm as a reminder. We also have Sunderkand Path on the first Tuesday of every month, which is a two-hour programme,” said Vatsala.

Inside the Gokul is also a cowshed, and the college uses ‘panchgavya’, which includes cow dung, urine and milk among other things, to manufacture various ingredients used in havans and pujas. The cowshed has one cow (Nandini) and a calf (Surbhi). “We bought them last year during Covid and have been taking care of them here. We make sure they don’t eat any plastic or such waste. They are given utmost care and respect, and we want our children to have the same respect for them. This is, however, not like the Gaushala in Hansraj College which courted controversy. For us the cows are just one part of the whole experience,” said Vatsala.

The college also has a Go Cast machine, which converts cow dung into logs. “These logs can be used for anything from performing havans to cremations to cooking. There are multiple benefits. We also have a Biogas plant, and several other organic elements to this village site. The students have also decorated it themselves with village art,” she said.

Asked if such a site could raise questions of not being secular or favouring one religion, Vatsala said, “There’s no such thing. Even Muslims come and chant Bhagavad Gita and participate in our Sunderkand Paths. I don’t know the religion of students who are decorating the village site. If a pond is Hindu, if ducks and rabbits can be Hindu, what can one say?”

When contacted, DU Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh said, “I will have to speak to the principal first. I have nothing to say about this.”