Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, Dec 23: The remnants of an ancient temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, which had been demolished at the time of laying railway tracks between the city and Hassan, have resurfaced at Vittalakody Banottu.

Vittalakody Banottu is located amid the naturally rich surroundings by the side of Hasirubetta hill and fields and farm at the foot of the said hill. In the 1960s, the railway tracks between Hassan and Mangaluru had been laid. As the spot where the temple stood was taken over by the railways, the temple was neglected. The people of the village next to the spot too had forgotten about it. However, from the last some years, the remains of Lord Umamaheshwara temple have been surfacing one by one. Some interested people from the village plan to reconstruct the temple elsewhere.

M V Pai, Sadashiv Achar, Ramesh Kainthaje and others from Mani, Thota Narayana Shetty, Narayana Rai Banottu, Ravi Sharma Kukkarabettu, etc have shown interest in building the temple. M V Pai said that currently, the people are being sensitized about the need to rebuild the temple. He said that the temple was surrounded by green grass and that a Lingam with a height of two feet was standing in the temple. But the villagers are not aware of the present whereabouts of the Lingam with some guessing that it would have been placed inside a well.

The place where this old temple stood is located by the left side of the railway track. To reach there, one has to take a right turn at Mani on the road to Puttur from Kalladka via Mani and travel a km. After crossing the Kambala field of the local Bunt community, we reach the railway tracks. If one goes half a km further, the spot where the old temple stood is located. Amid thick greenery one can see the pedestal of the Lingam and stones. Initially the pedestal was recovered. A local who went checking found the well supplying water to the temple in the middle of bushes. If one digs the spot, more remnants of the temple are sure to be unearthed.

A perusal of the stone structures gives an idea that the temple could have been over 800 years old. The locals point out that places like Kalladka and Kabaka nearby have progressed by leaps and bounds in the recent decades, but Mani has not witnessed much progress. Some villagers feel that neglecting the temple could have been the reason for this phenomenon. As per information, major services in the temple were being carried out by Kobrimatha Bannintaya family, Noojibail Brahmin community and Kodaje Choorya lineage. It is said that there is no one belonging to the Choorya family now.