SINGAPORE: A 120-year-old Hindu temple here will be thrown open to devotees on Monday after undergoing 4.5 million dollars renovation.
Indian temple architect Palani Krishnamoorthy, who has worked in various temples of Malaysia India said he was honoured to have beautify the temple which was marked out as a historic site by the Singapore National Heritage Board, The Straits Times reported today.
The temple will be reopened with consecration ceremony on Monday after its renovation work which started in August last year. The architect and 15 craftsmen worked for the renovation, adding decorative elements to the interior of the temple which follows the Chola architectural style.
Meanwhile, an Indian temple management committee is seeking approval from the government to erect a 32-feet Lord Vinayagar statue at Sri Senpaga Vinayagar Temple.
“The statue of Lord Ganesha, costing SGD1.5 million, to be carved out of a single slab of granite stone,” said the temple management committee President R Theyvendran.
The temple roots were traced to 1850’s when a stone statue of elephant-headed god Lord Vinayagar was found near a Senpaga tree in the suburb residential area of Katong.
Colourful ceramics ornamentations to the ceiling have been added to the temple including a feature of a large green parrot suckling on the nectar of an Indian prayer flower.
The temple’s kitchen has been modernised to serve meals for 1,500 devotees during weekends.
The kitchen modernisation include onion peeling and vegetable chopping machines, a combi-oven steamer to produce 250 idlis (steamed rice cakes) in 10 minutes and other machines for cooking vegetarian curries in 30 minutes.
Theyvendran said the upgraded kitchen would speed up cooking of meals for 1,200 devotees, including foreign workers from India, who attend prayers at the temple every weekend.
Some 10,000 devotees are expected to attend the consecration ceremony of the Senpaga Vinayagar temple on Monday.
All Hindu temples in Singapore undergo renovations and repairs every 12 years to re-energise its deities. (AGENCIES)
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