UNESCO award for Srirangam temple

Tiruchirappalli: Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam has won the UNESCO Asia Pacific Award of Merit 2017 for cultural heritage conservation after its massive renovation and restoration through the public-private partnership.

The temple secured one of the four Awards of Merit from a jury constitute of nine international conservation experts, which considered preservation projects from 10 countries in the Asia Pacific region.

The restoration of the temple started in June 2014 at the instructions of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, who was elected from the Srirangam constituency back in 2011. The huge project was accomplished in the period, at a cost of about Rs 25 crore, with contributions from the government as well as donors. The kumbabishekam was performed in two stages — in September and November 2015. The temple, considered the prime of the 108 divyadesams, is located on an islet between the Cauvery and the Coleroon rivers. It has seven prakaras and 21 towers, including the great 236-feet-high rajagopuram. The restoration of the temple involved careful work by experienced sthapathis, under the direction of experts in archaeology for over a year.

“The old grandeur of the temple has been restored. About 60,000 tonnes of construction waste/debris was removed during the renovation. The hundred-pillar and thousand-pillar mandapams and various other mandapams, some of which were out of the public view for long, have been restored, as were several sculptures in the numerous sub-shrines. It is very satisfying that the hard work has been recognised,” said P. Jayaraman, joint commissioner of the temple.

Words of praise from the UNESCO jury came as music to the ears of the temple authorities, especially in view of the criticism of the restoration project from a group of people, who have also taken the issue to the court.

“The project has revealed the original fabric of the shrines, water bodies and landscape within the temple’s four inner enclosures, which were once obscured under layers of inappropriate modern additions and tons of debris. Employing traditional construction materials and techniques, the restoration work was carried out in an authentic manner by local craftspeople in accordance with ancient building principles and rites. The temple today attracts great attention among its devotees and supporters, whose renewed sense of pride and custodianship will ensure its long-term sustainability,” commented the jury.

“This is an example of how government-private partnership can work and complete the work in record time. It has also proved that restoration can be done without the use of cement or any modern tiles, which can be replicated. In temples, it is also about restoration and not [just] renovation,” said Venu Srinivasan, chairman of the Board of Trustees of the temple.

The second phase of restoration of damaged portions of the temple outwork is set to begin soon. A few other preservation works are also on the anvil inside the temple, officials said.