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Article from 'The HIndu'

http://www.hindu.com/2007/11/28/stories/2007112859880300.htm

 

Software professionals take up cleaning of temples

 

 

 

Kannal Achuthan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo: V. Ganesan

 

TALES OF YORE: A student tries her hand at making a copy of a stone

inscription at the Thiagaraja Swamy Temple at Tiruvottiyur while

archaeologist T. Sathyamurthy explains the technique on Tuesday. —

 

Chennai: After six days of working on the keyboard in air-

conditioned glass-and-chrome buildings, a handful of software

professionals rolled up their sleeves on Sundays to clean temples

located near the city.

 

These IT firms employees have joined heritage experts,

conservationists and archaeologists of the Rural Education and

Conservation of Heritage Foundation to volunteer in identifying old

temples, removing weeds and overgrown vegetation and protecting the

structures.

 

U.S. Madan, a 28-year-old employee of software firm CollabNet, said

he was drawn to the historical information that could be gathered

from the old temples. The stories associated with the temples and

the style of architecture also attract many youngsters. J.

Chandrasekhar, a plastics technology engineer, has been trying to

rope in volunteers from IT and BPO firms, as the temple-cleaning

tours would open doors to a whole new experience. The volunteers

enjoy the physical work involved in de-weeding and cleaning, he said.

 

At present, the group has taken up cleaning of the Kundrathur

Valeeswarar Temple and its restoration. They collect funds from

friends and well-wishers for equipment and material.

 

Rajan Ganesh, an employee of Cognizant Technologies in Pune, had

started an online group for temple cleaners when he was in Chennai.

He continues to support the activities and spread the message of

temple preservation. The group also records its activities on

templesrevival.blogspot.com

 

Studying heritage

 

 

The Department of Archaeology, Tamil Nadu, organised a heritage tour

for students of Bharathi Women's College at the Thiagaraja Swamy

Temple in Tiruvottiyur on Tuesday to mark the conclusion of the

World Heritage Week celebrations.

 

The 900-year-old temple has stone inscriptions that carry

interesting information. One of them records in precise detail the

extent of land donated to the temple. " In India, there are one lakh

stone inscriptions of which 65,000 are in Tamil. They provide

tangible evidence about kings and the period when the temples were

built, " said T. Sathyamurthy, former Superintending Archaeologist,

Archaeological Survey of India, Chennai Circle. The college

students, from the Department of History, got a chance to use

the `estampage' technique to read the stone inscriptions. First, a

sheet of damp, white paper is spread on the stone and smoothened

with brushes. A black mixture like shoe polish is applied on the

paper to show up the impression of the letters carved on stone.

 

Epigraphist R. Sivanandam helped the students read the ancient

script.

 

S. Vasanthi, archaeologist, urged the students to tell their friends

and relatives to refrain from defacing stone inscriptions in temples.

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