Why this Kolaveri?

OK, with everybody on the Kolaveri bandwagon, can I be far behind? The flop song, the soup song, is so apt for the situation I venture to describe.

Some time ago, I was taking a few friends to the Brihadeeswara Temple, Thanjavur - A UNESCO World Heritage Site where the millennium celebrations were conducted with such pomp and splendour in September 2010 by the then Chief Minister of Tamilnadu. It was close to 1 pm and the main shrines were closed. But there was still so much to see, in the huge, probably largest temple in India. So we slowly moved around ,shielding our eyes against the midday sun. My friends were well informed about the temple and were able to identify the goshta devathas very easily. 

My attention, however, was captured by these, which resulted in the title for this post. Take a look!

What do you see here?

A beautiful Dhakshinamoorthy with a couple of sages worshipping at his feet. Let us just turn the angle of this picture. Now look- what you can see?

The walls on either side of the shrine are vandalised mercilessly. A Compass or key ha been used to make deep impressions of names of visitors who  for some crazy reason wanted to leave behind their names here. Take a close up look of how bad it is!

Whoever N.Raji was, he or she has not done himself/ herself or the temple a favour :( See how deep the cuts into the stone are!

Can you see the PMC carved into stone? Imagine how much of time and effort would have gone into this brutal vandalism! Well this is not all! Several other gods and goddesses are sitting amidst graffiti. It almost looked to me as if there were in a middle of a garbage bin. I am sorry if this hurts any one's sentiments, but honestly, when the sanctum sanctorum or the surrounding areas of where God resides, is damaged like this,
I do not know what else to say!

Here is one Shivalingam with graffiti as his backdrop! But he is not alone!

Here is another - equally if not more affected!

Well, here are Saptha Lingas with an entire wallpaper and arch of graffiti around them!

No one is spared - complete equality when it comes to graffiti! Do you want to take a closer look?

"The writing's up on the wall" - right up to the ceiling and all along the " Thiruchutru Maaligai" so thoughtfully built by Rajaraja's Senathipathi Krishnan Raman and decorated by King Sarfoji by installing 108 lingams and covering the walls with exquisite paintings. So are you wondering what happened to the paintings?

Philip and Mumtaj are part of this unique painting which possibly shows the Crane that prayed at the Potraamarai Kulam at Madurai ( I am guessing it is that part of Thiruvilaiyaadal Puranam).

Can Kennedy and Daisy be far behind? They too have made sure their names are part of another unique painting.

Even a water drum has not been spared! What is the sanctity or everlasting value of having your name on a water drum? Beats me!

Okay, by now, I can hear some of you murmuring, what is point in talking about this or documenting this? Why cant some action be taken? Good question. Tried to do that too. Hear me out fully.

Some days ago, a friend of mine had shared a picture of a painting taken at a temple.

I had shared it on my face book wall and it attracted a lot of feedback. In fact, one of my friends from a conservation NGO, offered to clean up and restore the painting if necessary approvals were obtained. So totally enthused by this, I set off to the temple. Reached there at 8.30 in the morning and was told that the priest only came at 6.30 to perform pooja and after that he came only when called or if there was a group of tourists through a known travel agency visiting! The temple however was open, and there were a couple of senior citizens resting there. I could not find the painting anywhere.

Feeling bored after waiting for close to an hour, with no sign of the priest, I picked up a conversation with the people there. They said that the painting was inside a mandapam which was opened only on request, when the priest was available. One lady said that the original painting had been totally damaged, and the new painting had been done about sixty years ago. But that was also peeling off (probably due to use of acrylic colours?) She mentioned that the mandapam was permanently closed now to prevent school children from scribbling on the wall. She  said the temple was thinking of whitewashing the mandapam which she too thought was the best solution since the temple did not have the funds to either restore or subsequently maintain the painting. She did not seem to have the contact details of any officer and I could not stay longer due to other commitments. 

So what is the issue and what is the solution? One solution suggested by Makemytrip's www.responsibletraveler.in is Amar Prem - a Virtual site where you can inscribe your names on virtual monuments and take printouts. But do we really have to promote vandalism in any form?

To me it seems like a collective behavioural change is urgently required at both ends - responsible users of the temple, responsible office bearers ably supported by a responsible civil society and government. I have just documented what I saw, and felt! Thoughts, suggestions and solutions welcome!