In fact there were two Shiva Temples in this village of which one was pulled down during British period while laying a railway line between Tiruvarur and Tiruthuraipoondi. In this context, we wish to take our readers to a Shiva Temple at Uma Maheswarapuram near Tiruvarur.
If Democracy is by the people, many of us can question the Govt why it keeps a blind eye at the dilapidated temples. Only God knows why the people keep silence and allow the destruction to happen. More than thousand year old temples are left unattended due to sheer negligence. If the Govt is not willing to do it on its own it should leave it to the donors with the supervision of the executive officers. The unnecessary delay in granting permission to start the renovation work and consecration make everyone frustrated. There are scores of Temples where the respective executive officers seldom visit them. But the executive officer can visit the site and insist the donors and others not to indulge in such alterations instead of making the process more complicated. When we look at the other side of the renovation work, we should agree that there are some places where the original structure is altered and mindless painting is carried out on the inscriptions. Hence the start date is getting delayed and people have to wait until they get the orders. They still hold the key of granting permission to do the consecration on a particular date only! Of late, it is heard that they delay the entire process by routing the request for renovation to other departments. The renovation and maintenance of the Temples is left to the donors as most of the lands are grabbed illegally and the rituals are reduced from four times a day to just one time !Īlthough the HR & CE was not ready to share the major part of the budget estimated for renovating the temples, it was allowing donors to do the job if they came forward. People have started noticing the failure of H.R & C.E department of the state Government in maintaining the Temples. The lands donated by philanthropists to the Temples not only met the expenses of the shrines round the year,but also served the locals both directly and indirectly. the temples around which all activities were functioning is totally forgotten. They are prepared to sell their lands and other properties to fetch a new beginning at any cost ! In this process, the epicentre of the villages i.e. The fact remains that every one wants to become rich overnight and ready to do anything to achieve this goal! When the neighbour takes modern education and earn huge salary, it is quite natural for others to be attracted and switch to the new life. The result of the migration is an open book for anybody. Retaining the poor in their respective places is going to be a real challenge for the Government as well. However the elders remain in their ancestral villages as it is too difficult to pull on if they want to follow the youngsters and migrate to green pastures. With the advent of Science and Technology people leave their home towns and villages and migrate to Urban areas. Rural life, bound by agriculture does not attract the new generations any more. This kind of erosion continues even now because of the negligence of the people towards the preservation of the tradition and culture. Those who have visited the rural areas of Tamilnadu will agree how badly the very breadth of Indian Heritage and culture has been eroded.