The Governor of Maharashtra, C P Radhakrishnan, inaugurated International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)'s Govinda’s Restaurant, next to the Sri Sri Radha Gopinathji temple near Girgaon Chowpatty.
The restaurant, which serves vegetarian food, is a spiritual and culinary initiative dedicated to promoting sattvic, wholesome, and devotional food traditions. “This is not simply a restaurant. Govinda's partners with the goal to allow us to grow a culture of compassion, purity, and well-being. The food we are serving here is not only nourishing for the body, but also, as prasadam, is purifying for the spirit,” Gauranga Das, ISKCON's governing body council and director of Govardhan Ecovillage, explained.
Das discussed the proposed Govardhan School of Culinary Arts, which is being promoted as the first of its kind internationally, in partnership with the National Skill Development Corporation and the Symbiosis School of Culinary Arts. This institution will teach sattvik cooking traditions and provide formal education to tribal and underprivileged youth.
Dhruva Karunakar Shetty, chief executive officer, Govinda’s and director of Srinathji’s Cuisines Pvt Ltd, stated, "We are thankful to be launching Govinda's in south Mumbai, blessed by His Holiness Radhanath Swami, and guided by Gauranga Prabhu. With this, we further commit ourselves to providing soulful and delicious cuisine and creating more opportunities through structured skill programs, especially for youth entering the hospitality industry."
ISKCON said that its recent food relief projects have supplied over 3.8 billion free meals worldwide. For instance, during the recent Jagannath Rath Yatra, ISKCON delivered over four million meals through the Adani Foundation.
The introduction of Govinda's further strengthens ISKCON's commitment to promoting sattvic living, coupled with the organisation's focus on empowering tribal youth through its proposed Culinary School, which corporates have the opportunity to support, the organisation said.
"Extremely grateful for having the fortune of having the honorable Governor C P Radhakrishnan ji inaugurate our Govinda's - ISKCON Chowpatty Restaurant today at ISKCON Chowpatty - Sri Sri Radha Gopinathji temple along with Shri Mangal Prabhat Lodhaji and other dignitaries," said Das.
Ashishkumar Chauhan, managing director and chief executive officer of the National Stock Exchange of India, also attended the event.
