Modi visits temple, Indian chancery in Dhaka

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday visited the Dhakeshwari temple in lalbagh in the city, the Ramkrishna Mission and inaugurated the Indian High Commission chancery at Baridhara.

"An early morning temple visit. PM@narendramodi worships at the Sree Sree Dhakeshwari Temple in Dhaka," Vikas Swarup, spokesperson of the the external affairs ministry, tweeted.

The 800-year-old Sri Dhakeshwari Temple in lalbagh is state-owned, giving it the distinction of being Bangladesh's "national temple".

After offering prayers at the temple, Modi met members of the temple committee and other senior members at the temple.

The Indian prime minister was offered a memento by the temple authorities.

In June 2014, when Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj visited Dhaka, she had also visited the 12th century temple. The Dhakeshwari temple was built by the Sena dynasty king Ballal Sen. The city of Dhaka derives its name from Dhakeshwari, which means goddess of Dhaka. 

Modi then visited the Ramkrishna Mission at Gopibagh and was greeted by the monks at the temple. He spoke to the senior monks and posed for pictures with the saffron-robed monks of the Ramakrishna order.

"last month in Kolkata. This month in Dhaka. PM visits Ramakrishna Mission in Bangladesh," tweeted Swarup. 

The Dhaka Ramakrishna Mission Math is a branch of the Belur Math, which Modi visited last month when he was in Kolkata. 

Modi then left to visit the the newly-constructed Indian high commission's chancery at Baridhara. He inaugurated the chancery and interacted with the people there. He also planted a bakul sapling in the compound.