INDIA, August 17, 2020 (30stades.com): Sometime in 2008, the over 500-year-old Gunja Narasimha Swami temple in Karnataka was in dire need of repair and restoration. The foundation of the temple, located on the banks of the Kaveri, about 20 miles south of Mysuru, had become weak due to flooding and loosening of soil. It developed cracks and some structures of the temple crumbled. Sthapati [a traditional Hindu architect and sculptor] R. Selvanathan, the 37th lineal descendant of Kunjara Mallan Raja Raja Perunthachan, who constructed the 1010-year-old famous Brihadeeswara temple in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, was chosen for the restoration of this Vijayanagara period temple. He decided to bring down the external structure stone by stone, replaced the old foundation with a new one using concrete, and reassembled the stones exactly like the original structure. Selvanathan is upholding the over 1,000-year-old family tradition of constructing and renovating temples even today.
Selvanathan’s canvas is global, much like his uncle and father, who constructed and renovated temples in America, England, Singapore, Malaysia, Fiji, Sri Lanka and Canada. “I worked with 60 shilpis (stone carvers) on the Gunja Narasimha Swamy temple restoration, which was completed in 2011. Dr. N.V. Ramanuja Iyengar, an NRI from Florida, USA, funded the project that cost over US$333,700,” says Selvanathan, whose latest renovation and restoration project is underway at the Sri Thiruketheeswaram Temple, Mannar in Sri Lanka. For the Kauai Aadeenam Temple in Hawaii, US, Selvanathan shipped hand-carved stones from India. It is America’s only all-granite hand-carved Sri Siva Temple. “The work is nearing completion now. Ten of our shilpis assembled the stones there. All the stones were hand carved in Bengaluru and transported to Hawaii by ship. Gurudeva (who commissioned the work) wanted the temple stones to be carved manually as this was the process followed in ancient times and ensures longevity of the structure,” he says.
Much more of this interesting heritage at “source” above.