Global Hindu Footprint - Spread Beyond India

[Bharatvarsh2]

Crowds throng restored Hindu temple



By Pamela Chow





[Above: President S R Nathan (wearing garland of flowers) at a special consecration ceremony for the restored Sri Mariamman temple yesterday morning.]



YESTERDAY, about 35,000 Hindus and non-Hindus queued under the scorching sun - some for up to four hours - to enter the restored Sri Mariamman Temple after a special consecration ceremony.



But the long wait on this auspicious day was "worth it" for many devotees, like Ms Kamini Silvaguru.



The hotel executive, 25, who queued with her mother and aunt from 7am to 11.30am when she entered the temple, said: "It pays off to see the ceremony upfront. Nothing beats that."



Even Ms Moon Yee, a freethinker and consultant in her late 30s, did not mind her 31/2-hour wait and the heat, because she "just wanted to see the ceremony".



While waiting to be let in, spectators were treated to a view of part of the consecration ceremony, called Maha Kumbabhishekam.



It started with an opening procession, where Hindu priests, including the temple's head priest K. Balachandar, carried sacred vessels of holy water around and in front of the temple to bless it.



Accompanied by a crescendo of music, the head priest proceeded to climb up the scaffolding to the "rajagopuram" - the tower atop the temple's entrance - to pray and praise the goddess Mariamman, whom the temple is built in honour of.



He poured holy water over five golden temple pinnacles, called "kalasams", which are believed to contain the spiritual energy of the temple, and over the entrance itself.



The priest then proceeded into the temple sanctum of the goddess, and poured holy water over a statue of the goddess Mariamman.



He also lit a fire in praise of the goddess, commonly used in Hindu prayers to signify light.



Throughout the entire ceremony, many visitors were seen clasping their palms together in prayer. Also at the ceremony were distinguished Hindus including President S R Nathan.



The 184-year-old Sri Mariamman temple has been undergoing a $4-million renovation since last March. The works are expected to be completed in the middle of this year.



In the main building, cracks on the ceilings have been sealed and the roofs made waterproof, followed by a fresh coat of paint.



All 16 cement statues of deities and ceiling murals have also been re-painted.



Work is still ongoing for ancillary buildings that house the banquet room, staff offices and other facilities.



Visitors were all praise for the ceremony and the temple's new look.



Mr Hiroaki Kobayashi, 34, an assistant manager on a business trip here, said: "I came to look and learn about the culture here... This is very new and interesting to me."



Software salesman Krishnan Jagannathan, 44, said: "The ceremony is very well organised and elaborate... The new interiors are also very fantastic and different from before."



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