A heavy downpour for a few minutes is all that is required to inundate important shrines in the temple town of Kumbakonam, while the tanks at the sacred spots will remain bone dry even if the rains continue for a week.
Repeated laying of roads in the lanes and streets abutting temple precincts have lowered the levels of temple complexes, while encroachments have choked the inlet channels of the tanks, allege the townsmen, who want a permanent solution to their woes.
The Iravateeswarar temple at Darasuram near Kumbakonam is known the world over for its stupendous sculptures and architectural wonders. It is equally infamous, at least among the locals, for the frequent water logging after every downpour. The front yard of the sprawling temple complex will be inundated, forcing the devout to endure enough before reaching the Lord’s abode.
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So is the case with Sri Ramaswamy temple, Sri Adikumbeswarar temple, Sri Chakrapani temple, Sri Nageswaran temple, Sri Someswarar temple — all within town limits — and Sri Kotteeswarar temple at Kottaiyur on the periphery. Copious rain is all that it takes to make them virtually float.
“The sacred float festivals have not been held over the years, as the temple tanks always sport a dry bed. However, when there is heavy rain, nature itself conducts such festivals, inundating the temple complexes,” Venu Pattabhiraman, a local astrologer, points out in a lighter vein.
If that is the fate of the temples, the state of the tanks is equally pathetic. The famous Mahamaham Tank gets fed by the Arasalar. Since the tank is the focal point of the town, the authorities manage to shore up its image by somehow filling it up.
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The rest of the numerous tanks are not so lucky. They always remain dry, as the inlets have been encroached upon for years and the channels that carry rain water to them are silted or disarranged.
“The Municipality, the Revenue, the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Departments have all collectively failed in the proper maintenance of a majority of temple tanks except for a few that have been resuscitated, courtesy the last year’s Mahamaham,” says V. Sathyaranarayan, secretary, All Traders Association.
R. Sethuraman, Vice-Chancellor of SASTRA University, said: “The Kangeyan Kulam has been converted into Gandhi Park, while a part of the Sei Kulam has become a car parking zone. It is time authorities concentrated on saving temples and their tanks.”