Restored: Shrine in Kannada movie icon's hometown

Chamarajanagar: The people of Singanalluru,  the hometown of the late Kannada movie superstar,  Dr Rajkumar, in Chamarajanagar district, have joined hands with the government to restore a dilapidated 500 –year- old temple boasting of Chola architecture in their midst.  

They are sharing the cost of the restoration with the government and the Sri Dharmasthala Manjunateshwara Dharmothana Trust has provided the skilled labourers necessary to carry it out.  The work began in June this year with the villagers pooling in about Rs 10 lakh towards t he restoration, which is expected to cost  Rs 35 lakh in all.

Temple priest, Srinivas Murthy, says it almost seemed on the verge of collapsing before the repairs began and believes they have been started in the nick of time to save it.

Mr Hariram Shetty, director of the Sri Dharmasthala Manjunateshwara Dharmothana Trust, explains  that it takes up restoration of ancient monuments that are of  architectural importance and the Janardhan Swami temple in Singanallur fit the bill.

“The foundation of the Janardhan temple has been strengthened and work on the rajagopura is progressing using fresh stones,” he reveals, adding that the Trust had restored a Hanuman temple in the same village in the past.  “So the people came to us once again to restore the Janardhan swami temple. And we agreed as it is both hundreds of years old and an architectural marvel,” he adds. 

An ardent devotee of the temple,  Krishna, who runs a provision store in the village, is  happy to contribute to its restoration. “I am happy that this ancient temple is getting a new lease of life.  I am sure that once it is restored, it will attract a large number of tourists in future,”  he says optimistically.