Mayapur ISKCON - Spiritual Capital of the world

Mayapur - ISKCON temple - Nabadwip

Nabadwip is the birth place of Load Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486-1533). It is situated in the bank of Ganga (bhagarati), where river Jalangi ( locally Khoyra) meets with Ganga. One side of the Ganga is Swarupnagar (can be reach by bus from Krishnanagar city) and another side is Nabadwip ghat. Boats are available for crossing the Ganga , fair Rs. 1.50. One banks of Khoyra is Nabadwip ghat and another is ISKCON.

Nabadwip ghat

Nabadwip is 120 K.m. away from Kolkata and can be reachable either form Howrah or form Sealdha. At Howrah, Katwa Local is available also there are few passengers/ express trains available for Nabadwip. For Mayapur - ISKCON temple, it is better to get down at Bishnupriya halt, which is after Nabadwip station. I took Local at 7.53 am from Howrah and reached Bishnupriya halt around 10.40 a.m. A rishka takes around Rs. 10-20 for the Nabadwip ghat from the station..

Mayapur is an Island grown in between river Khoyra(Jalangi River) and the Ganga. Take a boat to cross the Ganga to reach Mayapur ghat. Here make sure you see the difference in the color of the water while crossing the river. It can be reached by crossing the rivers. After reaching Mayapur there are riskaws or van riskaws are available to go ISKCON temple, charges Rs. 10-20..  It will be good if someone take the holy dip in to the Ganga, because the other side of the Ganga here said Khoyra not the Ganga.

River Khoyra (Jalangi River) meets Ganga

The another way to reach Nabadwip is from Sealdah. From Sealdah there are Krishnanagar local, or lalgola passenger of Bhagirathi express are daily available. By local it takes 2.30 hrs and in Bhagirathi it takes around 2 hrs. only. There are locals available every one hour from Sealdah. From Krishnanagar there are buses available for Nabadwip ghat. Fair is around Rs. 10. Autos are also available, but after 8.30 p.m. it is difficult to get those. Other way to reach Sadar by van rishka or rishka, they take around Rs. 30 or Rs. 6 in share. From sadar there are buses available for Nabadwip ghat. Nabadwip ghat is around 11 k.m. away from Krishnanagar Station.

ISKCON

Radha Krishna Temple

ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) was founded by His holy Sri Bhakti Vedanta Prabhupada. This is a bhaktibada Baishnab organization, H.O located in Mayapur. There is devotee all over the world to visit Mayapur. There are two main shrine one is devited for Sri Bhakti Vedanta Prabhupada and another is main temple where Load Krishna with Radha and others are worshiped. The area is very large and can be viewed only by the permission of the authority.

Sri Radha Madhava, surrounded by Their Ashta-sakhis (eight principal gopi friends) — Sri Lalita, Sri Champakalata, Sri Chitra, Sri Tungavidya, Sri Vishaka, Sri Indulekha, Sri Rangadevi and Sri Sudevi, along with Gauranga Mahaprabhu and Giri-Govardhana.

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu with his associates Sri Nityananda Prabhu, Sri Advaita Acharya, Sri Gadhadhara Pandita and Sri Srivasa Thakura

Radha Krishna Temple

On the left side of the main temple room is a murti of ISKCON’s Founder-Acharya, Srila Prabhupada in his Vyasasana. On the right side, on the main altar are the presiding deities: the beautiful larger than life size Sri Sri Radha Madhava, surrounded by Their Ashta-sakhis (eight principal gopi friends) — Sri Lalita, Sri Champakalata, Sri Chitra, Sri Tungavidya, Sri Vishaka, Sri Indulekha, Sri Rangadevi and Sri Sudevi, along with Gauranga Mahaprabhu and Giri-Govardhana. The small Radha Madhava Deities in the altar goes out in procession during Ratha-yatra and other festivals like Jhulana-yatra (swing festival) or boat festival. These Deities also come out in procession on a chariot every Saturday after Sandhya-arati during winter from the beginning of the Kartika (Damodara) month till Gaura-purnima.

In the center of the temple is the merciful deity of Lord Nrisimhadeva. This rare form of Nrisimhadeva is known as “Sthanu-Nrisimha” and this is the only place where this particular form of Nrisimhadeva is known to be worshipped. With bent knees and in great anger with reddish eyes, He is ready to spring out of the pillar to attack the demons and protect His devotees. The Deity was installed here in 1986 after the temple was attacked by dacoits.

The third altar (past Lord Nrisimhadeva), adjacent to the main temple hall is the Sri Sri Pancha-tattva temple. The most attractive and magnificient larger than life dieties of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu with His associates Sri Nityananda Prabhu, Sri Advaita Acharya, Sri Gadhadhara Pandita and Sri Srivasa Thakura were installed in 2004, which was a remarkable event in the history of ISKCON. The small Pancha-tattva deities were installed earlier, in 1996.

Timings of some of the prominent daily events here are:

Mangala-arati: 4:15AM (closes at 5:00AM)
Darsana-arati: 7:00AM
Srila Prabhupada Guru-puja: 7:30AM
Class on Srimad-Bhagavatam (English and Bengali separately): 8:15AM
Bhoga-arati: 12 noon
(temple closes at 1:00PM and reopens at 4:00PM)
Sandhya-arati: 6:30PM
Class on Bhagavad-gita (Bengali): 7:45PM
(temple closes at 8:30PM)

The evening Arati in the temple is very charming. People from variety of origin are dancing in a same name in the form of Kritan i.e.
“Hare Krishna Hare Krishna,
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare;
Hare rama Hare Rama,
Rama Rama Hare Hare”.

After attaining Arati it will be better to move for Kolkata. The last connecting train from Nabadwip to Howrah is available at 7.45 p.m. which reaches Howrah at 10:45 PM and from Krishnanagar to Sealdah is available at 8.10 p.m. which reaches Sealdah at 11 PM


Srila Prabhupada’s Pushpa Samadhi Mandir
The magnificient memorial shrine of Srila Prabhupada is the largest of its kind in India. The tall majestic marble dome dominates the skyline and shines beautifully in the golden rays of the sun at sunrise and sunset. The garland which adorned His Divine Grace while placing him in Samadhi has been brought and laid down in the Pushpa Samadhi Mandir. A larger than life size brass murti of Srila Prabhupada has been installed and worshipped here.

Srila Prabhupada’s Pushpa Samadhi Mandir

The Samadhi Mandir’s gardens are very beautiful and extensive. They never fail to attract the attention of all guests. Upstairs, inside the Samadhi, a large diorama display depicts Srila Prabhupada’s life and struggles to establish ISKCON and its preaching mission. Outside, the walls are decorated with terra-cotta displays of Krishna’s pastimes from the Srimad-Bhagavatam. A large auditorium is in the basement with facility for stage lighting. It is equipped with a sound system and seminars, festivals, ISKCON film shows and cultural programs take place here.
The Samadhi Mandir is open for general guests from 7:30AM to 1 p.m. and 3:30PM to 8:30AM

Temple of The Vedic Planetarium

One new big temple of Radha-Krishna ( Temple of The Vedic Planetarium) is in under process.

Nabadwip was the capital of Ballal Sen and later Lakshman Sen, the famous rulers of the Sena Empire, who ruled from 1159 to 1206. In 1202, Nabadwip was captured by Bakhtiyar Khilji. This victory paved the way for Muslim rule in Bengal
Hotels are available in Krishnanagar, Nabadwip or better in Mayapur.

There are plenty of Mandirs to visit in Nabadwip, specially Sonar (golden) Gouranga. One of the disciple of Mahaprabhu built this idol of Mahaprabhu made by gold. Here devotee can also see the shoes worn by Mahaprabhu. Beside the shrine of Sonar Gouranga there is one place in between Samaj Bari, where there is still a Kool tree planted by Shri Chaitanya. The Sri Sri Samaj Bari is famous tample and ashram for’ Baishnab’ on the same lane. There are other things in Nabadwip which are birth place of Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhy, Narashingha tample, Lake etc.

Deoghar - Abode of the Gods

Deoghar also known as Baidyanath Dham is an important Hindu pilgrimage. It is one of the twelve jyotirlingas, and also one of the 51 shaktipeeths and is famous for the mela of Shrawan (5th month according to the Hindu calendar system. It is the only place in India where the jyotirlinga and the saktipeeth are together. They lay side by side. Each year between July and August (on the eve of the month ofShraavana) about 7 to 8 million devotees come from various part of India to offer holy water from the Ganges at Sultangunj; almost 108 km from Deoghar to present it to Shiva. An unbroken line of people in saffron-dyed clothes stretches over the full 108 km for the month. (Shiva) temple 

Get in

• By rail - the nearest railway station is Baidyanath Dham (Deoghar) which is a terminal station of a 7 km branch line originating at Jasidih Jn. on the Howrah-Delhi main line. Apart from local trains on the branch line trekkers (type of jeep) taking in passengers on a per person fare basis and auto rickshaws are available.

• By road - Deoghar is approachable from Kolkata 373 km, Giridih 112 km, Patna281 km, Dumka 67 km, Madhupur 30km,Ranchi 250 km Shimultala 53 km and other places. Regular buses are available from surrounding towns.

Get around

Unmetered taxis or hired cars, auto rickshaws, tongas and cycle rickshaws are available. Tongas charge around Rs. 400, autorickshaws around Rs. 500 and hired cars Rs. 700-1,000 for a visit to most of the important places in the town.

See

• Baidyanath Temple - According to Hindu mythology, Ravana went to Mount Kailash and prayed to Lord Shiva, who gave him a Jyotirlinga to take to his land, with the promise not to place the lingam any where else. In case that happened, the lingam would remain fixed on that spot forever. The gods, who were unhappy at the prospect of the divine lingam being established in the enemy kingdom, which would render them powerless against their adversary, worked a trick on Ravana. He mistakenly handed over the lingam to a brahmin, who grounded it at Deoghar. Ravana did his best to uproot it but beyond breaking the tip he was unsuccessful. In deep remorse, he used to come to this place everyday and worship the lingam by offering water from the Ganges. Historically the temple is dated to 1596. The temple has almost all god & godesses and whole temple is built on a single rock. During the month of 'Sawan' people from across the country come to offer ganga jal to the divine Shiva ling.

For centuries, devotees, in the month of Shravan (June-July) undertake a rigorous 100-km pilgrimage on foot from Ajgaibinath (Sultanganj) in Bhgalpur district to offer holy water from the Ganges to the lingam at Deoghar.

• Naulakha Mandir - It is situated 1.5 km away from Baba Baidyanath Temple. It is a nice visiting spot. This temple looks like the temple of Ramakrishna in Belur. Inside it there are idols of Radha - Krishna. Its height is 146 feet. The amount spent in construction of the temple was about Rs. 900,000 (9 lakhs). Hence it became known as Naulakha Temple.

• Satsang Ashram - A holy place for devotees of Shri Shri Thakur Anukulchandra. In the south-west of Deoghar there is a big Ashram established by Sri Sri Anukul Chandra which is called Satsang Ashram. It is a universal reforming Ashram and working for the betterment of humanity. People from India and abroad visit this Ashram every year.

• Tapovan - Situated 10 km from Deoghar. There is a temple of Shiva which is the centre of attraction for pilgrims. The temple of Shiva is called Taponath Mahadeva. A number of caves are found in this hill. In one of the caves, a Shiva lingam is installed. It is said that Sage Valmiki came here for penance. Sri Sri Balananda Brahmachari obtained Siddhi (success through penance) here.

• Nandan Pahar - This is a small hill edging the town which hosts a famous Nandi Temple. It has been beautifully maintained by the local administration and speaks volume about the beauty of this place. This hill faces the famous Shiv temple. The Nandan pahar has a huge park for children. It also has a ghost house, a boot house, a mirror house and a restaurant

• Balanand Ashram Yogashala, Karnibagh - Yoga Institution.
• Harila Joria - Harila Jori is situated in the northern side of Deoghar, 8 km away from Baidyanath temple and 5 km away from Tower chowk. During ancient times, the area was full of Haritaki (Myrobalan) trees. This was the place where Ravana handed over the lingam to lord Visnu disguised as a Brahmin, and went for urination. A stream flows here and is known as Ravana Jori.
• Trikut -  It is situated 13 km away from Deoghar on the way to Dumka. There are three main peaks on the hill which is why it is called Trikutachal. The height of this hill is 2,470 feet (750 m). There is also a temple of Shiva at this place known as Trikutachal Mahadeva Temple. It is the mouth of river Mayurakshi. Here we also find an altar of the goddess of Trishuli. It is an attractive place with a cool stream flowing. Now this is going to have Jharkhand's first ropeway.

• Prabhu Jagadbandhu Ashrama - 4 km from Deoghar, on the way to Tapovan, near Charki Pahari crossing - for short stay in a cool, pristine environment with monks and other ashramiks.

• Ram Nivas Ashram: In this ashram Sri Sri Balananda Brahmachari Maharaj, a great yogi and guru used to stay and meditate. His disciple and the 2nd Mohanta (Head) of the ashram, Mohanananda Brahmacharialso stayed in this place. This ashram, surrounded by trees and gardens has temples of Tripura Sundari, Radha- Krishna, and Bhagbati Devi. A memorial temple has also been created at this place where the ashes of Sri Mohanananda Brahmachari were put to rest.

• Ramkrishna MIssion Vidyapith, Tiwari Chowk (Williams Town) - a boarding school run by monks of RK Mission. The campus is full of greenery and has 12 football fields. The Ramkrishna Mission Vidyapith, a branch of Ramkrishna Mission, Belur Math, Howrah district, was established in 1922 with the objective of imparting modern education combined with the values of our ancient culture in the lines of the ancient Gurukula.

• Rikhia Ashram - This Bihar School of Yoga (Sri Sri Panch Dashanam Paramhansa Alakhbarah) was established by Swami Satyananda Saraswati. Thousand of devotees from different corners of the world participate in a fair an annual festival and ceremony which is held in late November to early December. Foreigners are seen often in the town, especially between November and February. This ashram is indeed a sacred place and its charitable deeds greatly benefits the welfare of the local villages.

• Shivganga - Situated just 200 meters away from Baidyanath Temple. When Ravana was taking the lingam to Lanka, he felt the urge for urination. He handed over the lingam to a brahmin and went for urintation. After urination, he needed to wash his hands and be purified before holding the lingam. When he did not find any water source nearby, he made a blow with his fist on the earth and water came out and formed a pond. This pond is now known as Shivaganga.

• Prabhu Jagadbandhu Ashrama - It is situated 4 km away from Deoghar on the way to Tapovan, near Charki Pahari crossing. The ashrama houses a stone-temple of Prabhu Jagadbandhu, a religious preacher born at a hamlet called Dahapara of Murshidabad, Bengal. Even a single night's stay at this small but beautifully flowery and green ashrama located within a pristine landscape can provide solace and tranquility to the city tourists.

• Koiridih- A historical place near river side has an English time rest house with thousands of teak wood forest beautiful mountain view which is surrounded by Dighariya forest and a nice dam is coming. This village had a famous Ghandian freedom fighter name Late Ayodhya Prasad Singh. The High School of koiridih produced a number of skills students.

Get out

• Kali Dham, Pathrol - 53 km on bus route towards Madhupur via Sarath. Beautiful temple with nine more beautiful tamples around the Main Kali Tample which was built by Raja Digvijay Singh, 6 to 7 centuries ago.
• Basakinath Temple (42 km): It is famous for its Shiva Temple, and the pilgrimage to Babadham is considered incomplete without paying homage at Basukinath. It is situated 43 km from Deoghar near the village of Jarmundi and connected by road. It is an indigenous temple bearing local art.
• Dumka - 65 km
• Massanjore Dam - 98 km.
• Giridih - 112 km

Bishnupur - Terracotta temples

Vishnupur, West Bengal

Bishnupur (or Vishnupur) was the capital of the Mallabhum kingdom, once the most important Hindu dynasty in Bengal (founded in the 8th century CE and lasting until the early 19th century). Surrounded by old fortifications, the town has more than a dozen terracotta temples. The 16th-century Jor Bangla and stepped Ras Mancha are excellent examples of brick temples of the Bengali style and are covered by ornate terracotta tiles that depict scenes from the Hindu epics. The dhrupad school of music was founded (16–17th cent.) there under royal patronage. The town is also known for its silk and the stylized Bankura horse .

The India-Tourism is describing Vishnupur in the following way.

Terracotta, metalware & temples characterise Vishnupur. The temples are built mostly of brick & at times, of laterite. Clay & laterite are the only building materials available here besides wood and bamboo. The architecture is modelled on the pattern of Bengali huts built of bamboo & mud and roofed with thatch. Vishnupur will remain ever famous for its distinct style of music, i.e. the Vishnupur Gharana, if not anything else.

The name of Jadu Bhatt, the music teacher to Rabindranath Tagore, is remembered with respect to this day. A discerning visitor may find traces of the past splendour and glory thatwas Vishnupur in its superb temples and unique handicrafts.

Ras Mancha

The pyramidal Raasmancha was built in 1600 AD by Bir Hambir. This is one of the earliest existing religious edifice of Bishnupur. It has a typical Bengal 'do-chala' roof over the main sanctum, surrounded by three successive circumbulatory galleries, the arches of which are decorated with terracotta lotus motifs. And there is a spacious pathway on all four sides. During the Malla regime, images from neighbouring temples were brought here at the time of “Raas” festival and displayed at the galleries. This unique structure with such an architectural style is only one of its kind in entire India.

My address for the next two days was the Bishnupur tourist lodge. Located centrally amidst the historical temples of Bishnupur, this is undoubtedly the best place to stay there. The rooms are pretty big, quality of food is very good and it is reasonably priced. The tickets are issued at Raasmancha, with which one is allowed to enter all the main temples.

Our first venture in Bishnupur was to hunt for the handicrafts there. We first went to look for the famous “Dash-avatar Cards”. These are not ordinary paper cards. A paste is prepared from some natural elements like tamarind seed butter and a round piece of cloth is coated with this paste several times to make it stiff. Then natural colours are used to depict the ten (dosh) forms (avatars) of the lord Bishnu. The actual playing cards have 108 pieces and the kings of the sixteenth / seventeenth century used to play with them. This is a very old form of art in Bengal.

But the best was yet to come – it was the conch shell carving. This man, Mr. Gopal Nandi – in his sixties or seventies – got the president’s award long back for his unbelievably beautiful mastery. He showed us one artifact where he had carved the ten avatars of Bishnu on one conch shell. These shells, the raw material, are hard to be found now. So he has turned to other materials as well – the shells of coconut, pumpkin, wood apple etc. It’s really amazing to see how an artist’s improvisation can create real wonders.

Madan Mohan Temple

On our way back, we saw the Madan Mohan temple, the only ancient temple in Bishnupur where the deity is still worshipped. Madan Mohan, another name for lord Bishnu, is the god for every Bishnupurian. In AD 1742 or 1743, the Maratha leader Bhaskar Pundit attacked Bengal with his army, popularly known as “Borgis”. The reigning Malla king of Bishnupur, Gopal Singha, asked his men not to put up any fight as, being disciples of Madan Mohan, they believed in ahimsa and had the faith their lord would save them. At night, there was thunderous sound of shell firing. The people woke up next morning to find that lot of borgis were dead, the rest fled in panic and there was blood stain on the dress of the idol. The attack of these borgis had a tremendous effect on Bengal history and culture as well. The Bengal army had not the strength to fight them and they used to go on rampant looting.

There is a famous lullaby on this :

Khoka ghumolo, para jurolo,

Borgi elo deshe.

Bulbulite dhaan kheyeche

Khajna debo kise ?

Dhaan phurolo, paan phurolo,

Ekhon upaay ki ?

Aar kota din sobur karo

Rosun bunechhi.

A very lame translation can be :

The child has gone to sleep, (so) the locality has calmed down,

The borgis have come to our land (and they have looted all).

The bulbulis (singing birds) have eaten the grains,

(so) How shall I pay the taxes ?

The stock of rice grains is finished, so is that of betel leaves,

What is the way out now ?

Wait for a few more days,

Garlic has been planted. (after harvesting, the taxes will be paid)

Lalji Temple

JorBangla temple

The next destination was the well-known double-roofed JorBangla temple. It was built in 1655 AD and is famous for the terracotta panels. They depict royal lifestyle, battle scenes and stories from the epics. It’s really amazing to find how intricately carved these panels are – it might be a cliché, but words fail to describe them.

Small Gateway

Big Gateway

Radha Shyam Temple

Dal-madol cannon

We saw other temples and monuments nearby, the stone chariot, the gates of the old fort, the Jormandir group of temples and the famous “Dal-madol” cannon. It derives its name from the Sanskrit word “Dal-Mardan” which means dispersing the enemy. It was used by the tutelary deity of the Malla kings, Madanmohan, to disperse the maratha invaders. Although lying exposed to centuries, this wrought iron marvel is yet free from rust.

GOA - Here i come

Goa is world famous for its beaches, its ancient temples and churches, and its Goan carnival.
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Sunset at the Palolem beach
Anjuna Beach - Close to the Chapora Fort, its key attraction is a magnificent Albuquerque Mansion built in 1920, flanked by octagonal towers and an attractive Mangalore tile-roof. Anjuna was the second-home (and main location) of the hippies in Goa, in the 1960s and 1970s, after other destinations like Calangute got more "crowded" for them. It is still venue of a (vastly-changed, more mainstreamised) flea market held each Wednesday. In the nearby village of Arpora, two colourful Saturday night bazaars are held in the non-monsoon seasons. This is still part of "alternative" Goa, though charter and other tourists also visit the place in increasing numbers to "get a feel of the hippy years".
Arambol Beach - A quiet beach in North Goa near Pernem. Not too many facilities in terms of hotels or eating joints. The water is shallow and good for swimming.
Palolem Beach A scenic beach in extreme south Goa. Getting a bit crowded. Good eating options. Turning pricey though (by local standards). The rocks and islands off its schore are definitely scenic.
Patnem Beach - a small and quiet beach in Canacona taluka
Vagator Beach - a beach in Bardez, neighbouring Anjuna
Morjim Beach - beautiful beach, inhabited by Russian tourists. Prices are high, many restaurants with Russian cousine. Nightlife is vibrant here. This place is popular among kitesurfers due shallow depth of the sea and very wide beach.
Asvem Beach - quieter beach in extreme north Goa's Pernem taluka
Mandrem Beach - another beach in extreme north Goa's Pernem taluka
Candolim and Sinquerim Beaches in North Goa's Bardez taluka. Once humble fishing villages. Now the crowded concretised coast of North Goa. Goa's Benidorm. Or quickly getting to be as crowded.
Colva Beach - This beach's spectacle of sea, sand and sky blend in a enchanting natural harmony, weaving their magic spell on the visitors. Known for its scenic beauty. This is part of Salcete, Goa's only Catholic majority sub-district. Once a very hospitable area, now relations are getting monetized thanks to tourism.
Calangute Beach - aka Queen of all Beaches in Goa. Once highly rated. Now crowded. Expect traffic jams along the main crowded street. Beach is full of Indian tourists, a lot of noise, a lot of souvenirs and water sports beggar. You won't get peace here. Many famous clubs are located here. Nice eating options.
Baga Beach A family-beach and charter tourist destination just outside Calangute.
Chapora Home of the Chapora fort. Close to Vagator and Anjuna beaches. Also site for a fishing jetty where trawlers (introduced into Goa in the 1960s and 1970s, amidst protests from traditional fishermen, who were affected by them) bring in their catch.

Relax at the beaches. Goa has an almost unbroken 70 km coastline of beaches
Visit the cathedrals of a bygone era at Old Goa
Enjoy the variety of Indian, Chinese and western cuisine
Chill out at the discos and pubs
Checkout Anjuna flea market
Visit libraries: Central Library in Institute Menezes Braganza (Panjim) and Mapusa's Athaide Library. Other research institutions with good collections include the Xavier Centre of Historical Research at Alto Porvorim, the also-Jesuit run Thomas Stevens Konknni Kendra nextdoor at Porvorim, the Goa University, and a quaint Konkani-focussed library called Amchem Diaz (Our Traditions) that functions out of the first floor of a commercial establishment not far from the Margao bus stand and the local court.
Diving: The season is between mid October to mid May. Diving is not possible during the monsoons in India (June till mid October) The water temperature is between 27 to 30 degrees. The local diving here consists of dive sites around Grande Island, just off the coast near Vasco Da Gama. The dive sites are mostly 12 to 16m deep, and the visibility varies through the season, with an average of around 5-6 m. Marine life is abundant, with many species of reef fish, and hard and soft coral,and several shipwrecks to dive. Several dive centers conduct PADI courses, and organize dive trips to Pigeon Island (also known locally as Netrani Island) in the neighbouring state of Karnataka.
Kitesurfing: Goa is certainly not the best place in the world to try kite surfing, but it still has something to offer. Check Morjim, Arambol and Aswem beaches in North Goa. You can find instructors in Morjim, that take 8000-12000 Rs for beginners course. Season starts in January, you can expect 1-2 windy days a week during January and February, and 2-3 days a week during March. Most people use 10-14m² kites. Water is choppy most of the time, don't expect wave riding.

Paragliding: Check Arambol Beach in North Goa for tandem paragliders.