He asked me to investigate a report that the king of Bharatpur wanted to give us one of his many Vrndavana palaces. Of the many palaces the Maharaja of Bharatpur owned around Vrndavana, the Laksmirini Kunj palace was especially beautiful. So we looked into it. At our first meeting and later on, the king made various offers, but it soon became clear to us that he was more interested in getting money than in giving charity. When Srila Prabhupada found out that no palace was available, he reluctantly turned his attention to construction.
Construction work is a big endeavor, particularly in India, but now it was our only recourse.
The first step in actually constructing our temple was to find a good location. I liked best a one-acre site in the Raman Reti district, about five miles west of the center of town. I sent Srila Prabhupada a map and told him that the owners, Mr. and Mrs. Saraf, wanted to donate the land to us. So immediately bricks must be brought so they can sit during the rainy season and become soaked. A tube well must be dug immediately.