Keka DasGupta

A Hindu woman stands in front of an altar in the temple.
Photo by Maria Iqbal

In Hindu communities, whether men and women worship separately will vary by temple. At ISKON Toronto, there are three altars where members worship. Men are usually on the left, women on the right, and there’s a mix in the middle.

When I was young, I would be dancing and singing on the right side with all the girls. Now as a mom with two boys, I will sometimes be in the middle. I’m not going to go stand on the left side with the guys—my husband can—but I’ll be in the middle with my sons and with other men. That’s really my habit. I’ve always started on the right. I don’t think it has to do with comfort, because if I’m here by Krishna, I have no discomfort anywhere. If anything, when I come to the left altar, I don’t really stay long because I’m used to being on the right.

"When I was young, all the girls would be dancing and singing on the right side. Now as a mom with two boys, I will sometimes be in the middle. "
Keka DasGupta
Three altars with Hindu deities at the ISKON Toronto Hindu temple.
Photo by Maria Iqbal

But I don’t feel like there are any boundaries or barriers. My family will come in together and then my husband will go to the right by force of habit and I will go to the left. A lot of the time, he stays on the guys’ side and I’m on the girls’ side. We’re not sitting beside each other. And then 8 o’clock arati comes and then my husband’s beside me and the kids are beside me.

When I went to India at about age 10, I saw in some of the ISKON temples the men would be up at the front and the women were relegated to the back. That pissed me off. When I returned to Toronto, my relationship with space in the temple here made me feel like I was free and Krishna was accessible to me, and that nobody’s putting an artificial barrier between me and god.

Keka DasGupta
Member of ISKON Toronto

This interview was edited for length and clarity.