A private school teacher is building a temple for Lord Krishna using his own money in his village of Vedullavalasa, at Garividi mandal in Vizianagaram district.
Durgasi Suryanarayana said his decision to build the temple, at a cost of ₹35 lakh, was borne out of a need to ‘preserve local culture and traditions’.
“Temples used to play a key role in villages. They were not only places of worship, but also centres for cultural and educational activities. However, many temples in the villages are in a dilapidated condition, and some of them have collapsed entirely. A majority of the villages developed in the last few decades do not have temples due to various reasons,” Mr. Suryanarayana said.
Although he is facing troubles in making ends meet, he said that he is striving to complete the temple by March this year.
Long journey
Mr. Suryanarayana bought 40 cents of land in 2015 at a cost of ₹4 lakh to build the temple. While he was able to overcome the initial hurdle of finding a suitable plot of land, he struggled to secure funds for its construction. Several villagers initially were reluctant to support him in his endeavour, but were won over by his determination, Mr. Suryanarayana said.
The school teacher later engaged two sculptors B. Raju and B. Nagendra for speedy construction of the temple. Apart from a tall statue of Lord Krishna, idols of Sri Maha Vishnu, Goddess Lakshmi, Lord Siva, Goddess Parvati and others are being readied.
“In an era of rapid globalisation, we must ensure that our youngsters are rooted in our culture. It will be possible only when elders uphold the practice of visiting temples regularly. That is why I took the initiative of building a temple in our village,” Mr. Suryanarayana said.
His wife D. Bhavani said she was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from the villagers in surrounding areas like Garividi, Cheepurupalli and Rajam. “Our aim is to impart training in music and dance to the children on the temple premises. Great epics such as Ramayana and Mahabharata will also be taught by trained teachers,” Ms. Bhavani said.
