Project Ends but Journey Continues

Exemplary behaviour is the key for success for those who involve themselves in the renovation and consecration of Temples. It demands lot of patience, hard work, sacrifice,dedication and unshakable faith. This blog brought out a feature on two such dedicated persons in the service of God in the last issue. The School Head from Pavattakudi had tremendous faith and the village temple was renovated in a record time and the kumbabishekam was conducted on Friday,27th August 2010. The pressure was too much on his shoulders as the temple was in dilapidated condition when I visited the site some three months back. He worked hard by aproaching the right people and started the work. The main vimanam had deep rooted trees and the whole structure had developed cracks at many places. It was not an easy job to bridge the gap without disturbing the structure. Yet he successfully conducted the whole process with lot of patience. Now the vimanam presents a new look after the removal of weeds. He had to strike a balance beteen his official work and family duties apart from sparing his time for such activities.

The whole village wore a festive look as Yagasala poojas were started on wednesday itself. This responsibility is inclusive of the ability to get the job done through various persons. A perfect coordination is required to carry out different tasks at the appropriate time. Hence it can not be an one- man show. The leader has to plan and execute things precisely .Any failure or delay may irk others and lead to criticism.

Manpower is a must to execute things in the right direction. It will be more difficult in small villages if proper support is not provided. Shortage of funds will be there until the final stage and it is not uncommon to see people running from pillar to post to mobilise funds at the last hour. With all these challenges, Kumbabishekam at Pavattakudi was carried out in a modest way without compromising anything that is prescribed for the function.

The real challenge follows only after the great event. It is all about arranging funds to carry out the daily poojas for which little thought is spared by the villages. As far as the priest is concerned,it will be back to square one once the Mandalabhishekam is over. This temple requires atleast 4 ltrs of oil and milk to conduct abishekam for all deities. With the current price of oil, approx. Rs 400 is required for oil alone every day. Since oil needs to be applied to harden the ashtabandana paste that binds the deity with the base, this expenditure can not be avoided. Then comes the Priest's salary. The villagers with the help of outsiders have to arrange for a regular monthly income for the priest who is fully dependent on the only source . Hope the organisers will plan accordingly to generate a reasonable income for him. However,the temple authorities have pleaded for a contribution of Rs 400 per person everyday to conduct the Mandala pooja.

The Lingam brought from the temple tank is installed in the prakaram without any shelter at present. A separate shrine for Sri Subramanya needs to be built on the outer prakara as nothing is there in its original place.Our Sabha has come forward to share nearly half the cost for raising the structure. As there is no compound wall around the temple, the Executive officer of the temple was requested to arrange for the same by getting grant from HR&CE dept.

It is equally important for people who left the village long ago to continue to contribute liberally to maintain the temple and visit the temple periodically which will inspire the locals to join the good cause. Though the project has come to an end, plans for maitaining the temple and carrying out regular poojas are to be framed immediately when the enthusiasm is high among the locals. It will be yet another historic journey for the temple in the process of handing it over to the next generation.