Devotees of ISKCON Brahmapur in the Indian state of Orissa made a unique offering to Srila Prabhupada on 16thAugust for the 50th anniversary: they have opened a permanent book store inside their local railway station with the permission of the railway authorities.

“This is the first time in the world that ISKCON has received official permission and support to open a permanent book store inside a railway station,” said Pancharatna Das, President of ISKCON Brahmapur. “The railway authorities arranged a prime spot inside the railway station, just next to the VIP room on platform 1. We are distributing all of Srila Prabhupada’s books from this store.”

The signboard at the book stall has the logos of ISKCON as well as the Government-owned East Coast Railways, making it an official retail outlet. The store will be managed by full-time book distributors as well as volunteers from the congregation.

“The sign above the book store says: one book will change your life,” commented Pancharatna Das. “All of us know that Srila Prabhupada’s books have transformed the hearts and minds of millions of people around the world. We hope that our humble offering to Srila Prabhupada in the 50th anniversary year of ISKCON will please His Divine Grace by increasing book distribution and generating more publicity for ISKCON.”