Monkeys not a menace in Srikalahasti

Locals shower affection on simians after collapse of Rajagopuram

A monkey being fed with a brinjal at a house near the Siva temple in Srikalahasti.

In any centre of pilgrimage, monkeys become a public menace, giving panicky moments to women and children.

But, come to Srikalahasti, the abode of Lord Siva in Chittoor district, known as Dakshin Kasi. Monkeys are no longer a menace, as locals have come to cherish a belief that the apes are sentinels of Srikalahasti temple ever since the Rajagopuram built by emperor Sri Krishnadevaraya crumbled five years ago.

Shelter

When the glorious 140-feet tower stood in its place, it was shelter to hundreds of monkeys.

Unique phenomenon then was that the monkeys were not seen moving in residential areas around the temple or middle of the town. When it collapsed on the evening of May 26, 2010, the monkeys had lost their five centuries old abode.

Many were crushed to death under the debris. Several monkeys who had lost their limbs or suffered fractures now linger around the temple zone from dawn to dusk and retreating to nearby forest at nights.

Their ‘post Rajagopuram collapse generation’ roams the streets, depend on denizens and pilgrims to get food. After the collapse of Gopuram, the panicky monkeys were confided to aloof locations for several weeks, but slowly started invading residential areas, behaving like any other monkeys in a pilgrimage centre.

Local people had soon abandoned all their aversion for monkeys, and started pouring out sympathy at the injured and pregnant monkeys.

After five years, the young generation is abuzz with their pranks, while their moms and grannies which survived the great fall will soon be entering pages of oblivion. G. Sridhar, a youth, working at car-parking zone, who missed the fall of debris on his head by hair’s breadth, but suffering injury on knee, recalls the tragedy.

Unique feature

“As I started running away from a column of dust, I saw monkeys sprinting before me. There were lucky ones and miserable ones too with injuries. In five years, I could witness a phenomenal change in the attitude of people in and around temple towards monkeys. Particularly, housewives treat baby monkeys on par with children.” There is a unique feature with the locals here.

Apart from feeding the animals themselves, some sensitive locals, mostly women, have gradually introduced a trend. They narrate to pilgrims the plight of the monkeys after the Gopuram collapse.

Sympathy factor

Sympathy factor is soon won, and pilgrims buy bananas, bread and biscuit packets and some times packed lunch for an army of monkeys at Sannidhi Street, adjoining the temple.

Curiously, whenever some monkeys find arrival of pilgrims in batches, they do not miss the opportunity to alert their patrons to fill their stomachs.

Several monkeys crushed to death under the debris of Rajagopuram

Locals narrate plight of simians to pilgrims and motivate them to offer food

When Rajagopuram collapsed on the evening of May 26, 2010, the monkeys lose their five-centuries-old abode