Clean and godly
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More than just the `shop till you drop' experience, Singapore has a lot more to offer to tourists, like the Srinivasa Perumal temple on Serangoon Road, says PRADEEP CHAKRAVARTHY.
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CLEAN, WIDE avenues and swiftly moving silent traffic ... No! Not in India but in little India ... in Singapore. Towards the north of the city, I stumbled upon this little gem of an attraction among the many Singapore has to offer to the tourist who wants to do more than just savour the "shop till you drop" experience.
Swathed in scaffolding, the Srinivasa Perumal temple in Serangoon Road is easy to miss but a large plaque caught our (wife and myself) my attention.
Passing by a small gopuram, we entered a long-pillared hall that led to the sanctum. The main deities are of Vishnu with his two Consorts. These deities date back to the 1960s. The original deity may have been a Narasimhar for that would explain why the temple used to be known as the Narasinga Perumal temple.
The other more current theory is that, the East India Company had paid to one Mr. Narasingam a piece of land measuring two acres 19 poles at Serangoon Road on July 20, 1885 at a cost of Rs 21 and annas three. A temple was built and was referred to as the Narasinga Perumal Koil. The archakar that evening was a busy man and curtly asked us to come some other time to know more on the temple. However, he did indicate that the original founder was from Kumbakonam. Our dismay at his attitude vanished as we saw the colourful pageantry of the Utsavam.
The processional deities are of astonishing beauty and were resplendent in fine jewellery and silks. Against the background of the brass-plated mandapam that shined like gold, surrounded by the chants, and a touch of modernity were the young torch bearers in shorts and modern looking shirts!
We went around the main shrine and paused at the shrines for the Azhwars, Thayar and Andal, and rested for a while on the steps. Why would an Indian come all the way to Singapore to see this temple, we asked. Our unanimous answer was, "to see how clean and well maintained a temple can be despite a steady influx of pilgrims."
To me, this really contributed to the sanctity of the place. We soaked in the chanting and gazed at the stucco figures of gods and goddesses everywhere, built in the same style as anywhere in Tamil Nadu, the deities did proclaim their affluence by the lavish use of better quality gold paint. The evening sun only added to the mellow tint!
We also stopped for a while to admire the elegant vahanams of the temple and were thankful for a pilgrim who asked us to visit the website of the temple.
Online info
The website is informative and user-friendly. Originally built near a sacred pond that was filled up in the 1940s, successive grants of land had added to the current acreage of 1,20,000 sq. ft. by 1912. The temple had been administered since 1907 by the Mohammedan and Hindu Endowments Board.
In 1952, the Board decided to rebuild and reinstate the Perumal Temple which was in a bad state. The restoration — much of it done by artisans from India — was completed by 1966. The small shrines under a large Peepul tree gave way to large modern structures. In 1965, a wedding hall was constructed adjacent to the temple compound through the generous donation of P. Govindasamy Pillai, J.P., and BBM.
In 1975, plans were drawn up to renovate the temple and to add a Rajagopuram to complete the temple complex. The precinct walls were raised and several shrines redesigned. The flag-post was encased with brass plates made by craftsmen in India and special entrance doors made in India were fixed to the Rajagopuram. The cost of construction, renovation and other associated ceremonies was borne by P. Govindasamy Pillai; Kumbabhishekam was carried out in 1979 followed by 41 days of Mandalabhishekam sponsored by devotees.
The temple was declared as a National monument in 1978. In 1987, a second reconstruction was done and the temple was re-consecrated in 1992.
We left as the Kubera yagam a devotee was sponsoring was almost getting over. The minor God of wealth was certainly taking care of the temple well and close on his heels was that of cleanliness. We partook a little of the prasadam served from containers neatly covered by foil and told ourselves over a tasty morsel of Pongal, cleanliness is surely next to godliness!
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