In Kalabgur village, a few kilometres away from the bustling district headquarters of Sangareddy, the 800-year-old Sri Kasi Visweswara Temple has been a site of religious significance. For, apart from locals, pilgrims from neighbouring States of Maharashtra and Karnataka frequent the place to worship the presiding deity, Lord Shiva.
But there is more to the temple than meets the eye. Till last year, only a portion of it was visible. Sustained and meticulous efforts of the Department of Archaeology and Museums (DAM) have been successful in excavating as much as seven feet of large portions of the temple buried under the earth.
“The temple belongs to the Kakatiya period. Residents told us that abhisekam water was not draining outside the temple naturally. We sent our team there which found out that the water is flowing into a basement. This prompted us to begin excavation,” says DAM Director N.R. Visalatchy. As the team began to work, it stumbled upon a water spout which led the archaeologists to believe the existence of this basement. This enabled them to understand where the original prakara level could have been.
Excavations over a period of 17 months led to the discovery of pradakshina pada, or the circumambulation area. The adisthana , or the temple base, was also found. The discovery of the base encouraged the team to look skywards. This led to piecing together a puzzle of the konamattam and chandramattam. “This is the final portion of the roof which was missing,” says Ms. Visalatchy. Surviving roof patterns carved in stone were studied. Local artisans, under the observant eye of experts, were then entrusted with replicating and fixing these patterns.
Once this was done, the focus moved on the uphill task of alien structures. Experts knew well that this could not be achieved unless they win the trust and confidence of locals. “The residents had constructed a concrete pandal by spending a considerable amount of money. This had to be removed. We explained to them that the restoration work would increase the temple’s beauty. They understood and cooperated with us,” Ms. Visalatchy explains.
As old as the temple is a step-well. It has three storeys, one being a bathing level. Conservation work here is also in progress. Water harvesting at the temple complex is on the anvil as well.
“We will now focus on plinth protection. This will include measure to contain water seepage. Further, work is underway to reduce the load on the structure,” the director says.
