The village of Dakshineswar is the location of a temple devoted to
the black goddess, AKA the
Divine Mother, AKA Ma
Kali, founded by
Rani Rasmani in 1847. Located Northeast of
Calcutta and on the banks of the
Hooghly River, the village is home to both the Kali temple, twelve smaller temples devoted to
Shiva, as well as a temple to
Radha and
Krishna, hospitals, nursing homes,
ashrams and the
Dakshineswar Ramkrishna Sangha Adyapeath.
Architecturally, it it is an example of Bangla architectural style, with a central dome surrounded by several other smaller towers, all in shining white marble.
The temple at Dakshineswar played a part in the lives of many Hindu holy men, including Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Swami Vivekananda, Paramahansa Yogananda, Sri Anandamayi Ma, Papaji Swami Ramdas, and Neem Karoli Baba. Millions of pilgrims visit the temple at Dakshineswar every year to "worship the Divine Mother as Ma Bhavatarini Kali (the Savior of the Universe)." (1)
In the U.S., the Ma Dashineswari Kali of Laguna Beach was founded in 1993 by Elizabeth Usha Harding as a way of connecting to the temple at Dakshinewar and the mother goddess from afar.
1) Quoted from the website of the Kali Mandir in Laguna Beach: http://www.kalimandir.org/about_us/about.asp?page=about
Other refereces:
http://www.templenet.com/Bengal/dakshineswar.html
http://www.adyapeath.org/home.html
http://www.sacredsites.com/2nd56/199.html