Temples - III

 

Temples – Part III

Continued from Part II and the concluding part

“OK, agreed”, said one of them from the previously discontented group.  “But, how do you justify your statement that temples served the agrarian purpose and acted as refuge for people during natural calamities.” There was sincerity in the speaker’s tone now.

“Good question. I appreciate it”, said the guide. He took the group to a spot to show the pinnacle of the tower above the sanctum sanctorum.  It was a golden coloured pot like structure. “This ‘pot’ contains life seeds of various grains. These seeds are preserved there and every 12 years they are replaced with new, fresh ones. Old scriptures tell us that in case of crop failure these seeds were retrieved from there and distributed among farmers, something like a seed bank. Since we have modern day seed banks and other agro-support systems, this idea has become obsolete but it was done with a purpose in those days.”

“Excellent!” exclaimed the group. “I still have one more question…” said a girl from the group. “How did temples serve as….” “I get your question”, said the guide. “See this structure, how strong and sturdy it is. It has withstood weathering over centuries. It gave refuge to people at the time of flooding and other natural calamities. Those day, of course, the kitchen was used to its fullest capacity to serve food at that time.”

“How was the site for temple construction chosen?” “Soil analysis was conducted to check for the suitability as the structures were planned to be huge.”

Good Bye all!! The guide bid adieu to the group.

The whole group was thoroughly impressed and left the place ruminating the facts that were left in the sands of time for long.

Concluded

Temples - Part II

 Temples- The heart of local economies

Continued from Part I

“How?”, the guide started to address this ‘how’ point by point.

Employment to the local communities

During the construction of the temples, a very large number of people from the local communities and from near by places were employed.

The employment was on various fronts:

1.     The construction work, carpentry, iron smithy, cooking. Dancers and other entertainers were also employed during the construction of temples.

C “Wait, wait…dancers?” interrupted one of the listeners. “Yes, if you look around you can see sculptures and idols of dancing women. Dancers were employed as models, posing for sculptors.”

“Oh!!! Modelling was a profession in those days as well?”

“Ok, but why entertainers?” some one interrupted again. “Rest all are understandable, but why entertainers?” “They were entrusted with the responsibility of entertaining the physically exhausted and stressed workers of temple projects. Also, the kings wanted the whole team to share the visions of the project of temple construction, with similar dedication and devotion as theirs. Therefore, entertainment was mostly narration on the presiding deity’s stories, in the form of musicals, ballets and other forms of entertainments as well.”

After the construction, the temples emerged as hub of local economic activities as well. Small settlements came up around temples and the locality was abuzz with various activities.

• 1.     Priests and their families settled down near temples (of course, for performing the daily religious rituals)
• 2.     Cooks were employed to prepare the daily offerings to the Lord. The temple kitchens also double up to serve the needy
• 3.     The tailors who stitched the Lord’s fineries
• 4.     Washermen were employed to wash the deity’s clothes
• 5.     Sweepers maintained the cleanliness of temples
• 6.     Flower stalls sold ‘Puja’ items
• 7.     All the floral offerings to the Lord came from the temple gardens and gardeners were employed for the gardens’ upkeep
• 8.     Administrative officers were employed for the temple administration
• 9.     Cowherds took care of the cows that belonged to the temple

 So on and so forth….

Slowly the group started realizing the importance of temples in local economy, as the forgotten facts started unravelling from the sands of time…

To Continue

Temples - Part I

 Temples (The heart of local communities)

The tourists were awed by the grandeur of the humungous structure. The intricate stone carvings, the small statues on the tall towers all caught the fascination of the group.

The magnificent structure, intricate carvings, idols, sculptures are all common features in temples. The experienced guide was walking the group down the memory lane, explaining every corner of the place to its detail.

Some in the group started murmuring that kings and emperors who built such huge temples actually wasted people’s tax money. Others chose to ignore such comments. Emboldened by the non-opposition, the murmur became louder, this time with uncharitable comments.

The guide decided to explain the ‘pseudo-intellects’ how temples served various socio-economic agenda in olden times.

Thus spoke the guide, “Kids, I have been listening to your comments throughout. I understand that you people are completely ignorant about the glorious history. That’s very sad. Now, learn from me. I can only pity you people for your ignorance.”

The group glared at the guide. The unwavering guide continued, “Temples, as you believe,  are not wasteful buildings. They have provided employment to the local communities, have served to save the communities from disasters and natural calamities, served some agrarian purposes, doubled up as entertainments cum learning centres.”

Unmoved by the introduction, the group of ‘intellectuals’ decided to counter the guide. “How?” asked one of them, and the others getting ready with their volley of questions. Unperturbed by the arrogance, the guide started explaining the facts that got buried in the sands of time.

To Continue