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SINGAPORE, Feb 13 (PTI) Unfazed by heavy rain, nearly 20,000 people joined Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong to celebrate the restoration and consecration of the country’s oldest Hindu temple, built nearly 200 years ago by early Indian immigrants of.
The Sri Mariamman Temple, a national monument, was unveiled to the public on Sunday after a year-long restoration. The S$3.5 million (US$2.6 million) restoration involved 12 professional sculptors and seven metal and wood craftsmen from India who worked on the sanctuary, dome and ceiling frescoes.
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The original color scheme and structure of the temple has been preserved.
“It’s part of living in multicultural Singapore, where the whole community comes together to celebrate each other’s cultural and religious milestones,” Wong wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday.
“The morning rain did not dampen the spirits of the approximately 20,000 people who celebrated the consecration of the Sri Mariamman Temple here today! It was a pleasure to be part of the ceremony,” he said.
The year-long restoration was led by lead sculptor Dr K Dakshinamoorthy, who is also a restoration consultant for the Tamil Nadu Hindu and Charitable Foundation.
Earlier on Sunday, Communications and Information Minister Josephine Teo, Transport Minister S Iswaran and MP Murali Pillai joined Wong in the ceremony, along with migrant workers from southern India.
Migrant workers have been seen sharing the experience with their family members overseas via video calls.
Migrant worker Jagadheesh Ramamoorthy, 40, said he appreciated the effective crowd control.
Noting the presence of religious leaders from other faiths, Teo said: “This is a very clear indication that we can maintain multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-religious harmony and we must do everything we can to preserve it.
“The temple has become an integral part of the local community,” she added.
Iswaran described the ceremony as a “fitting celebration” as Singapore downgraded its Disease Outbreak Response System status (Dorscon) from yellow to green from Monday. Dorscon green says Covid-19 is now considered mild, with minimal disruption to daily life.
Devotees gathered in the streets around the Chinatown temple early Sunday to witness the landmark ceremony, the sixth consecration every 12 years, also known as Maha Kumbabishegam.
Tears of joy and poncho-clad devotees were common sights at the event, which was in full swing despite the morning downpour.
Throngs of Hindu priests climb the Raja Gopuram, or temple’s grand entrance tower, and the six vimanams, or temple towers, to perform the ritual of reconsecration. At 8.20am, the priests poured the holy water from the holy jug onto the temple’s steeple in unison, triggering clasped hands and tight chanting.
Sangeetha Vijay, a 45-year-old mother of two who has been visiting the temple since she was 10, said it was special because she believed Sri Mariamman had answered her prayers for a daughter some 20 years ago.
“Due to my second pregnancy, I missed the ordination in 2010. I hope to express my gratitude today,” she said.
For Sumathi Nadesan, who grew up in nearby Blair Plain, the latest consecration of her childhood shrine brought great joy.
“Devotion is as important as it was in my childhood. There is the same strong devotion, but much less hassle,” said Nadesan, 63.
Temple secretary S Kathiresan said the support from devotees had been “overwhelming”, noting that although the event started at 7.15am, some had arrived by 2.30am.
The electric lamps that illuminate the statue of Mariamman in its main inner sanctum have been replaced by traditional oil lamps. Temple chairman S Lakshmanan said the sanctuary will now evoke a feeling similar to being in a “mother’s womb”.
The dedication ceremony is followed by a period of 48 days of religious ceremonies and cultural displays known as the Mandalabishegam.
Jayden Chua, 35, and his mother Nancy Tan, 64, accompanied their Hindu friends to the ceremony.
“It’s nothing like anything I’ve seen — the collective devotion of thousands of believers,” local daily Tamil Murasu quoted Chua as saying.
It likened the event to the fervor of the National Day Parade in Singapore on August 9, involving the participation of the armed forces, civilians, citizens and civic groups.
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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