800-Yr-old temple rises from the water

[Guest guest]

"The surprise was in the words of the prescient Kanchivarama seer

who had advised him to go slow with plans to construct a Gayatridevi

temple as ``he would get a temple'' soon."

 

 

800-Yr-old temple rises from the water, finds new home

Tuesday May 4 2004 00:36 IST

KANAMBADI (MYSORE): A few years ago, a hoary structure of worship

rose from the subterranean depths of the Krishnaraja Sagar reservoir

in Mysore district following a sharp dip in its water level.

 

The much weathered and dilapidated temple provoked awe and curiosity

among devotees and in the media.

 

But perhaps no one was more moved than Karnataka liquor baron Hari

Khoday. He was flying across the reservoir in a microlight aircraft

when he espied the temple's ruins rise from the dried-up bed,

leaving him ``shocked and happy.'' The surprise was in the words of

the prescient Kanchivarama seer who had advised him to go slow with

plans to construct a Gayatridevi temple as ``he would get a temple''

soon.

 

That was the beginning for the next lap in 800-year-old temple's

long journey _ to its new resting place in Kanambadi village near

KRS. Last summer the Department of Water Resources gave the go-head

to Khoday to complete the relocation in 15 days flat. In an

operation bankrolled by the no-expenses-spared tycoon and involving

heavy machinery such as Itachi cranes, hi-tech computer imagery, and

the coding of each piece of stone, 300 people shifted the structure.

 

Today, sculptors from Tirunelevli who had worked on the Mallikarjuna

Swamy temple near Hosur and the Venkateshwara Swamy temple in

Banglore, chisel away around the clock to give the 40 x 90 ft

sanctum sanctorum a fresh look. Senior sculptor Ramamurthy says the

resurrected temple ``can be completed in four months.'' Khoday, who

spends two day a week to personally monitor the construction spread

across 6 acres of land, says the project would be completed much

before three years.

 

As for the cost, estimated to be Rs 1 crore, he says, ``It is a

small service to the Almighty.'' And then he adds, ``I am thankful

to the locals and technocrats who voluntarily participated in the

shifting of the temple's remains.'' But he had grand hopes. ``I had

plans of constructing the same temple in Bangalore with the same

stones, slabs and other remains. I gave it up as technical experts

advised me not transport slabs and huge blocks in a semi-wet

condition.''

 

For now Khoday is hoping that the temple, restored to its former

glory, would be the harbinger of good fortune in its new

neighbourhood. He says, ``Why should I ask the Government to provide

basic amenities or lay a road to the temple? The completion of the

temple and flow of tourists will force the authorities to turn it

into a prominent tourist destination.''

 

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