History

The Port of Spain Hindu Mandir or Paschim Kaashi, the Benares of the West is appropriately located in the heart of St. James. In the 19th century St. James was a cane farming area peopled by indentured Indian immigrants. They brought with them names such as Baroda, Benares, Bengal, Calcutta, Cawnpore, Delhi, Ganges, Hyderabad, Kandahar, Lucknow, Luckput, Madras, Mathura, Nepaul, Nizam and Patna. The names are immortalized in street signs now. Hindus living in St. James worshipped mainly at home and communally in earthen-floored tapia structures called kootiahs. It was their dream to erect a structure of which they could be proud. This took place in 1963 when construction began of Port of Spain's first Hindu Mandir or temple.

All the major Hindu families living in St. James in the early fifties became actively involved. Many prominent members of the Port of Spain Hindu community assisted in this construction effort. It was spearheaded by Jang Bahadoorsingh an astute businessman and Simbhoonath Capildeo an Attorney at Law. Capildeo was to continue to enlarge and expand Paschim Kaashi to what it is today. Ironically of all the Hindu named streets of St. James the Mandir was sited on a street named Ethel. Capildeo changed the name (which is still used) from the Port of Spain Hindu Mandir to Paschim Kaashi, the Kaashi or Benares or Varanasi of the West. Bahadoorsingh retained the services of a local architect John Newel Lewis who designed the original structure utilizing Trinidad architectural concepts of a city temple making the Mandir uniquely Trinidadian Hindu and not a Mandir of India. (See P. 185 of his book Ajoupa).

In the first years the Hindu community built what it could afford. The Mandir was in reality a shed with a dominant spire and two small ones on either side over the entrance facing Ethel Street There was one sanctum sanctorum. A single recessed area with marble Murtis of Sri Krishna and his consort Radha. On either side were pasted large pictures of other Hindu Gods and Goddesses.

Although an orthodox Sanatanist Hindu Mandir, this Mandir was to break many a Hindu tradition. One of the first being to provide seating accommodation so that the inside of the Mandir bears a strong resemblance to pews in a church. From its inception all devotees had access to any part of the Mandir and full use of the grounds and cultural centre at the back of the Mandir.

Its garden was designed and developed for use by the devotees and the Mandir was among the first to include on its grounds more than twenty-five trees and shrubs sacred to Hindus which are used in rituals. Among the more exotic are the Asoka, Bael, Khadamb,Oudumbara, Neem, Paan, Tulsi, Dhatoor, Doob and the Banyan.

In 1970 Capildeo supervised a major expansion extending the area of the sanctum sanctorum to include two more altars on either side of Sri Krishna and Radha. One was dedicated to Lord Siva and the other to the Goddess Durga. The pasted pictures were no more, replaced by marble Murtis of Siva and Durga.
Continuing in his expansionist mood Capildeo in his pursuit of making the Mandir a microcosm of Hinduism using Murtis utilized a concrete stage which was at the immediate rear of the Mandir to establish three shrines. At that time a local Hindu was trying to found a Buddhist tradition. Members of the Indian High Commission expressed a desire for a Jain centre of worship. Ram Kirpalani, the most successful entrepreneur of the time wanted to install a Siva Murti in classical Nataraj form. 

Capildeo accommodated all three desires and his effort can be seen today by visitors who marvel at the spectacle of three Murtis, side by side, Lord Buddha, Nataraj and Lord Mahavira. The room in which these three Murtis have been installed is known as the Meditation Room and individuals who so desire may spend time in splendid isolation there facing the Murtis with their thoughts. The ambience of the setting is more pronounced with the rays of the setting sun in the afternoon.

A little known fact is that after the failed 1970 Army revolt discharged soldiers who were expert craftsmen worked on the interior of the main Mandir keeping intact the Mandir's concept of being a completely Trinidadian institution. Their decorative concrete work can be seen over each of the main altars.

In addition to the main altars of Shivji, Sri Krishna and Radha and Durga Mata, Capildeo imported from India and installed the Dashavatars of Lord Vishnu. All ten being made of marble. So that a walk around the inside of the main Mandir would reveal Matsya Avatar, Kurma Avatar, Varaha Avatar, Narsingha Avatar, Vamaan Avatar, ParasuRama Avatar, Rama Avatar, Krishna Avatar, Buddha Avatar, and Kalki Avatar.A unique avataric coexistence in a single room.

As one enters the Mandir Hanuman looks over you and you come face to face with Lord Ganesh and the Goddess Lakshmi. You will encounter in all sixteen marble Murtis of the pantheon of Hindu Gods and Goddesses.

The Mandir was enlarged by extending the northern and southern sides. The entire ceiling was done over in teak. The roof, which now has sixteen domes, is supported by sixteen great cylindrical columns on the outside and twelve on the inside. Later in that same period the entire courtyard was tiled and two small Mandirs were erected between the cultural centre and the main Mandir dedicated to Lord Siva and Lord Rama. 
In 1988, two years before his passing, Capildeo supervised the erection of yet another small Mandir utilizing the space between the Rama Mandir and the cultural centre.

A Hanuman Mandir was built with a magnificent marble Murti of a larger than life Hanuman in his classic kneeling pose installed. On the roof, designed by the celebrated artist Ken Morris, an upraised arm with a burnished mace (Mugdal) can be seen.

In 1991 his wife Indradai Capildeo and his son Surendranath Capildeo completed the building of a Kali Mandir which Capildeo had conceived. This was built in the space between the Shiva Mandir and the cultural centre. It is another unique construction on the compound of the Mandir entirely Trinidadian in its creation. The architect was Chinese, the builder Muslim and the craftsmen African and Indian. Inside can yet again be seen the inspired work of Ken Morris. The Kali Murti itself was specially crafted in India for the cosmopolitan society of Trinidad. It is made entirely of black marble. The inside of the Mandir has been designed, painted and decorated to accommodate this, unique in the Western Hemisphere, Murti. Special lighting effects conjure an awe-inspiring atmosphere for devotees. For security purposes this Mandir is always closed and opened only on special occasions or on request.

Paschim Kaashi has since its inception been the flagship Mandir of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha of Trinidad and Tobago Inc. At one time it was used as a temporary headquarters of the Maha Sabha. It is the home of branch no.24 of the SDMS. The President of the branch and the Mandir is Ronald ‘Gobee’ Lakhan.