Singapore: Little India's 164-year-old Hindu temple gets a facelift
For more than a year, twenty artisans from India have been sharing sacred space with devotees and scores of other workmen in Singapore to help restore a 164-year-old Hindu temple, a declared national monument in the country. The restoration work has been ongoing for over a year now at Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple in Little India at the cost of Rs. 20cr. Here's more.
Biggest challenge for restoration work is temple's rituals, festivals
A chief sculptor and a team of 19 highly-skilled artisans from India are "painstakingly keeping" to the color scheme of the original temple, reported a local daily. The biggest challenges for the restoration team is to accommodate various rituals, festivals and ceremonies while the extensive work is being done. The temple's management committee chairman Vellayappan Karruppiah, 73, called the temple "a living monument".
Renovation work is on schedule: Temple management committee
"Everyday, there are poojas going on and major festivals when the work has to stop. The management committee has to plan so the work can be finished in time, and I am happy to say that we are on schedule," said Karruppiah. The renovations include making more space for devotees, re-painting paintings, murals and religious motifs, and re-conditioning structures like pillars and temple roof.
Re-sanctification of temple to be conducted on April 22
A new multi-purpose facility for blessed meals and religious ceremonies has also been added. After completion of the restoration, an elaborate ceremony for the re-sanctification of the temple will be conducted by 39 priests on April 22. Rare sacred ceremonies will be performed for over five months. It is believed that the rituals will bring goodness and prosperity to the devotees, community, and nation.
Restoration of Hindu temples are carried out every 12 years
The iconic temple, one of the oldest in Singapore, is undergoing its fourth renovation since it was declared a National Monument by the Preservation of Monuments Board of Singapore in 1978. Restoration and re-sanctification of Hindu temples here are carried out every 12 years. The Hindu Endowments Board funds the works and appeals for donations are made to supplement the cost.
