Inchara Udupi
Daijiworld Media Network—Udupi (EP)
Udupi, Jan 16: K Sathyendra Pai, chief secretary, renovation committee, Katpadi Sri Venkatramana Temple, said that the reinstallation festival of one of the prestigious temples belonging to the Gowda Saraswath Brahmin (GSB) community of the coastal region with a history of nearly 500 years will be held from Saturday January 17 to Thursday January 22.
Speaking at a news conference held on the temple premises on Thursday January 15, he said that the community has been worshipping the deity Venkataramana in particular. “There are abodes of the deities Sri Venkataramana, Sri Devi, Bhoodevi, and Sri Anantapadmanabha in the temple. Besides this, there are separate sanctuaries for family deities Lord Ganapathy, Goddess Mahalaxmi, Lord Mukyaprana, and Sri Garuda. The deities of Annappa Daiva Kalkuda and Nagadeva are worshipped outdoors. The Adi Alade Temple in Pangala is also being managed by this temple administration. Besides that, 17 educational institutes under the SVS Foundation with a history of 105 years are being run by the Bhajaka Vrinda,” said Pai.
“The renovation work on the temple had started nearly a century ago and in between a beautiful chariot was prepared for the deity in 1964. It was decided to proceed with the renovation of the temple with the blessings of Sri Kashi Mathadeesha Sreemad Sudheendra Theertha Swami and in the presence of his pupil Srimad Samyameendra Theertha Swami,” he elaborated.
It was decided that the temple would be renovated in two stages at a cost of Rs 10 crore after holding discussions with the devotees of Sri Venkatramana Swami. A renovation committee was formed with the co-operation of the present trustee Sathish Kamath. Pangala Rabindra Nayak was elected the president, K Sathyendra Pai, chief secretary, K Baburaya Kamath, honorary president, and K Sudhakar Bhat was elected treasurer. A few more members were elected to the committee and were given the power for renovation of the entire temple.
The temple sanctuary and surroundings were renovated at a cost of Rs 6 crore as part of the first stage after preparing a blue print. The first phase of renovation has reached the concluding stage with the co-operation of devotees from within and outside the town. Extra care was taken to adhere to the principles of ‘Vastu’, tradition, and art. The ‘Vishnu Sahasra Nama’ is carved in stone. The use of black stone has increased the beauty of the temple. The abodes of deities are coming up artistically. The shrine of Annappa Daiva at the entrance is newly constructed.
The reinstallation ceremony of the temple will be held from Saturday and religious programmes will start on Thursday with the blessings of Mathadeesha Sudeendra Theertha Swami and initiated by Sri Samyameendra Theertha Swami. A ceremonial procession will be held with special vegetables from Katpadi market to the temple.
“Religious and cultural programmes will be held during these days. In the celebration of the installation festival that will be held on Thursday at 6.30 pm, Sri Kshetra Dharmastala Dharmadhikari Padmabhushan D Veerendra Heggade, union minister of law and judiciary D V Sadananda Gowda, Karnataka government minister of urban development Vinay Kumar Sorake and minister of higher education and tourism R V Deshpande will be present. In the meeting on Tuesday January 20, at 6.30 pm, MP Shobha Karandlaje and other religious and social leaders will be present”, said Pai.
Temple managing trustee Satish Kamath, trustee Giridhar Pai, renovation committee vice-president Sarvothama Kamath, treasurer Sudhakar Bhat, committee members Chandrakanth Pai, Srinivasa Kini, Pundalik Bhat, Jagadish Kamath, and Radhakrishna Prabhu were present at the press conference.