THE Basanti Devi temple was built in Vikrama Samvat 1959 in Krishan Paksha of the month of Chaitra (Hindu calendar) in Kailar village, the present Sector 24 in Chandigarh. The temple was built on Basant Panchmi that is why it is known as the Basanti Devi temple. Goddess Sheetla, an incarnation of Goddess Durga, is worshipped at this temple.

Before Chandigarh came into being, there was village known as Kailar (now Sector-24 of Chandigarh) with a population of about 500 persons. The beginning of the 19th century witnessed the outbreak of several epidemics such as measles, chicken pox and small pox in the region. Kailar village was badly affected by them too. Out of fear, the villagers left their houses and started living in a hutment. According to a legend, one day a girl came to the hutment and advised the villagers to build a temple of Goddess Sheetla to ward off the evil effects of the diseases. Nobody, however, paid heed to her advice. Meanwhile, the disease struck again and the death toll increased. Then a saffron-clad saint came to the village. The villages asked him for an upaya. The saint told the villagers to build the temple as per the wish of the girl. The saint disappeared and never returned to the village. Thus the Basanti Devi temple was constructed.

According to the priest, Pt. Babu Ram, the temple has saved villagers from falling prey to deadly epidemics. At the temple, devotees perform rituals in accordance with certain set procedures. Several families whose children suffer from measles visit the temple in the morning with parshad prepared the previous night.

The temple has a fine architecture and interesting wall paintings. The staircase leads to the front porch, whereas the second porch constitutes the main temple where the statue of the Goddess has been installed. The shikhar (pyramidal roof) is small but appears majestic. The inner walls of the front and main porches are decorated with beautiful paintings that bear resemblance to the Rajasthani style of paintings.

All the four paintings on the inner wall of the front porch are appealing. On the northern side, Lord Shiva along with Goddess Parvati are shown on their vaahan Nandi. On the southern side, Guru Nanak Dev is shown along with his companions and followers Bhai Bala and Bhai Mardana. The paintings on the eastern side are titled "Jang Sahib" and "Fauj Sahib" (A Britisher is depicted as Jang Sahib and four soldiers with guns and elephants are portrayed as Fauj Sahib). The painting on the eastern side shows a king and a queen.

In the sanctum sanctorum there are eight paintings. These paintings depict religious legends. On the upper part of the inner wall of the dome, Lord Krishna is shown with gopis performing Ras-leela. Krishna and Gopis are shown in a variety of costumes. You have Krishnawith a boat-shaped headgear in yellow, green and red and gopis in green-coloured cholis and ghagras. The painter has used dull brick red, deep blue, brown and yellow colours. Shades of green, black, red, ochre and mauve can also be seen.

In Samvat 2059 (year 2002), the Basanti Devi temple turned 100 years old. Many Rajput families of the region visit the temple on the first Tuesday after Holi, which is considered an auspicious day for offering prayers and worshipping the deity.