Temple trauma
“It was quite lame and a flop,” murmured my teen twins who were sitting quietly in the restaurant after an eventfully long morning of the second day of their Spring Break spent in the Trimbakeshwar Temple. We couldn’t agree more. Disappointment was writ large on my face too.
I am not a regular temple-goer as I am crowd-phobic. Plus, I am yet not that spiritually awakened to shut out the jostling and noise, to connect with the Supreme. But one does think that with such a big deal being made currently about Sanatana Dharma, with the consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, with the Prime Minister’s recent visit to Nashik and the holy places there, things would be slightly different from the memories my parents had of their Trimbakeshwar visit, which is often spoken in shudders.
Nashik has been on my mind. Especially in the past few months; because I started editing the Nashik city page for a well-known newspaper. Curious about the places I was reading about day in and day out; I wanted to visit them in person. Also, since my father is from that city, it was interesting to tell him things that were happening there and to hear him reminiscence. Nashik is one of the holiest ancient cities in the country, with river Godavari, also known as ‘Dakshin Ganga’, running through it. It is said that Shri Ram, during his exile, lived for a bit here with Sita and Lakshman. It is probably from here that Sita was abducted by Ravan, as Tapovan close by is the place where Lakshman is supposed to have cut Ravan’s sister, Shoorpanakha’s nose.
To top it, there is Trimbakeshwar temple here, one of the 12 Jyotirlingas. The extraordinary feature of this Jyotirlinga is that it has three faces embodying Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh. The uniqueness of this Jyotirlinga is also that it is situated underground. The temple itself is a fine example of classical architecture, featuring intricate stone carvings, beautiful sculptures, and a traditional Nagara style shikhara. Constructed mainly from black stone, its architecture reflects the grandeur of ancient Hindu craftmanship and serves as a testament to the artistic and architectural skills of the bygone era. Trimbakeshwar is also the site of Simhasta Kumbh Mela, the biggest religious gathering occurring every 12 years.
Also, Sant Nivruttinath Maharaj Samadhi is situated in Trimbakeshwar.
Needless to say, the trip happened; and we dragged our teens along… the idea was to show them some of our holy places, a part of our rich history and even richer culture and wonderful architecture to them.
And this is where I have an issue.
Why cannot large temples like Trimbakeshwar, or even Thirupati for that matter, make religion and culture attractive to youngsters? Especially the ‘urban elite’ ones that are so easily trolled on social media for ‘not knowing their culture’. Yes, it is parents’ responsibility sure; but ever heard of the saying ‘it takes a village to raise a child’? Can the State not take any responsibility in the information and education of the young ones’ cultural growth? With the trend changing these days, with the Prime Minister’s inauguration of the Ayodhya temple; his sweeping clean act at the Kalaram temple; his dip at Dwarka; his earlier inauguration of the Kashi corridor. He has piqued the curiosity, but after that what? Do people visit these places to be treated like cattle and only for VIPs to get real access to the deity?
Trimbkeshwar was pretty well organized till we reached the sanctum sanctorum. The area leading to the temple, where devotees wait in queues, were covered, pleasant with coolers, water dispensers, benches, LED TV screens showing live puja and arti and most importantly, CLEAN. They even had feeding rooms for young mothers! But reach the garbha gruha, all hell breaks loose. Who are those idiot women guards there, who ONLY push people? They DO NOT let any person even get a look! How jarring is their aggressive behavior in the house of worship where people have stood patiently in serpentine queues for hours to have an internal talk with their deity. People have travelled from far off places with small children and old parents for what, to be herded like cattle?
Here’s a thought that could be made workable. With so much of encouragement to start ups today, and with India leading in STEM brain power, can we maybe think of systems for temples that have a sensory pad of some kind that lets a person stand in front of the deity for exactly 30 seconds and then beeps so that the guards can usher them on? I am sure better minds can come up with better ideas and workable solutions. I am also sure that if airports can get queues to behave and disperse effectively at security and immigration lines, temples can too. After all, even Trimbakeshwar temple, like most of the big and famous temples, has a security arch and cameras installed in it. Why not add some more technology to make the darshan a memorable one?
Second part is, can the temple authorities and trusts keep permanent exhibitions, paid of course, for curious and interested minds? There is nothing like increasing interest in one’s culture and heritage than a small museum close by. History of the structure, stories surrounding its creation, destruction by invading forces, re-building… The area around the temple can be creatively used for this.
For both of the above, temple trusts can make use of PPP or even CSR. It is high time we walk the talk of imbibing cultural awareness and pride in the next generation. And it should come from family as well as the community.
One thing I won’t gripe about though is, the roads. They were wonderful, a lovely smooth drive back and forth. It could all be due to the preparations for the upcoming Simhastha Kumbha Mela to held in 2027; but the civic authorities and the State and Central government do seem to have pumped their funds here. Although, they could keep some money aside for building proper toilets; as there were none worth venturing into en route.
Actually, the highways leading to and around Nashik were quite good in large pockets. We drove down from Mumbai and except for Bhiwandi, which is still work in progress. I do wonder when Bhiwandi area will get better, it has been a sore spot since my childhood.
Overall, India is changing, Maharashtra is changing; roads are getting better. This is the time for all kinds of tourism and cultural tourism in Maharashtra should play catch up with the changing times and make their temples, forts etc more visitor friendly.
