Hare Krishnas to create Harrison garden

The memory of George Harrison, the former Beatle who died last year, is to be preserved with the creation of a garden in eastern India by fellow Hare Krishna followers.

The move reflects the esteem in which Harrison was held among devotees of the religion, to which he dedicated probably his most successful song, "My Sweet Lord". The garden will be in Mayapur, a town about 60 miles north of Calcutta.

Dayaram Das, head of the Calcutta chapter of the International Society of Krishna Consciousness, said: "We are going to set up the George Harrison Garden to commemorate his contribution in spreading the messages of Lord Krishna through his music."

Harrison, who died of cancer at the age of 58 in November, had a close relationship with India in the later years of his life. One of his final acts was to pledge to help with the construction of a shrine to the Hindu god Krishna on high ground near the banks of the River Ganges.

The ornate building is intended to include a prayer hall where devotees of Krishna facing to the east can see a 30ft-high statue of the god. It is to be built at Varanasi, one of the holiest of Indian cities.