Archaeologists and historians are worried about the status of the Chidambaram temple if it is not declared a national monument soon enough.
At the recent Indian Art History Congress here, historian and archaeologist R. Nagaswamy made this plea: “I request the Government of India to immediately send an ASI team to inspect the temple and arrange for it to be declared a National monument and then a world heritage monument by UNESCO. We have written this in a letter to the Director General of Archaeological Survey of India. Instead of building new structures in and around the temple, the focus should be on preserving it without any alteration. A beautiful Pandyanayakam temple has been pulled down and is lying in a shambles and another Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple is crumbling.”
Dr. Nagaswamy admitted that he was very disturbed about the construction coming up outside the Eastern Gate of the temple. “It is a 42-foot-wide road leading to the gate. Ten feet on each side have been taken up for pillars over which concrete will be laid to provide shade. As a result, there is just 20-odd-feet of road left for visitors to the temple. It is a stampede nightmare waiting to happen. Haven’t we learnt from the Tanjore tragedy? ”
“An engineer from ASI, who should have known better, said it was okay to raise the pillars and put galvanised sheets as roofing. But when a similar pathway was suggested at the Stala sayana Perumal temple at Mahabalipuram, permission was denied. Why these double standards?” he asked.
A frequent visitor to Chidambaram, S. Gurumurthy, a temple photographer, artist and a history buff, said he was pained at the monumental neglect and damage he sees there. “A covered pathway at the approach to the temple will mean more two-wheelers parking, more shops and less space for people. Why should there be a sudden need to cover a path that has been open to the skies for centuries? Instead, why don’t the concerned authorities concentrate on sprucing up the existing ones. ”
R. Aruneswaran is from Chidambaram and he is aghast at the condition of the temple. “Preservation of the temple is paramount. No additions should be made; even a small change has to happen with the advice of a panel of senior archaeologists and not just anyone.”
A Facebook community ‘Save the Heritage temple of Chidambaram’ has been started. In order to gather more public opinion, the stakeholders hope people will post their suggestions, observations and ideas.