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A temple with a difference

Well undertaken by this religious shrine

PHOTO: R. ASHOK.

REJUVENATING A multi-religious spiritual destination.

It isn't just another recreational centre that soothens your frayed tempers. It is a place for spiritual rejuvenation no doubt, but with a difference. For scores of Tiruchiites, the Iyyapan temple located in the heart of the city is more than a religious destination. A multi-religious spiritual shrine, as the members of the Iyyapan Sangam term it, the temple appears unique in many aspects. What attracts foremost is the lush greenery all around and every patch of green carries an important message.

Walk a metre and you bump into a caption board that reads, "Efforts may fail but don't fail to make an effort." Few steps ahead, another board flashes the importance of eye donation.

"The sangam sells over 50,000 caption boards every year. They have become an integral part of city dwellers," says a member. The temple conducts blood donation camps every fortnight within its compound and so far 3,531 people have been motivated to come forward. After a `satvik' breakfast provided at the temple, the volunteers undergo pre-medical check-up, preceding the blood donation. An in-built park attracts huge number of visitors for its sheer beauty and fresh air. But the social messages scattered all over the place stand apart, striking one and all.

Mammoth charts carry messages like: "I will donate my eyes" and even as you browse through them, volunteers come up with advice and for help.

"We have put these posters to encourage people to donate their eyes. We also give away similar charts free to those interested so that then can keep reminding themselves and their kith and kin, friends and neighbours of and important duty," says a volunteer. As you approach the sanctum sanctorum, rejuvenating sandal fragrance forces you to stop for while, as you deeply draw in the therapeutic aroma. The spic and span premises only tell you how much labour goes into maintain it so well. But volunteers perceive it differently: "All visitors are self-disciplined and they do not mess around much to leave us with any hard work."

Scholarships

Academic scholarships offered by the temple have resulted in a virtual chain reaction. Consistently, the beneficiaries of the scholarships have just one thing to say: "I'll pass on the help to others. An emotionally moved benefactor bids us adieu with a message: "Thanks should not be a word, it must be a tendency."

S.AISHWARYA

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