Tribute To Declining Temple Architecture Source: www.dnaindia.com
INDIA, September 2010:
Hitesh Sompuraa, 33, is a one man army. His mission is to spread awareness and stop what be believes to be a decline of Indian temple architecture. In his latest endeavor, Sompuraa, the architect of Shri Nija Sevashram Temple in Borivli, Mukteshwar temple in Juhu and the Madan Mohan Haveli in Gujarat and Pune, has come up with a three point-agenda to "start a conversation or a revolution about Indian architecture".
His latest exhibition features a film called Architecture ke Bheetar, a book called You & Architecture and an exhibit of home temples. The temples, made of white marble or sandstone, are finely detailed, scaled down replicas of historical temples of India.
For now, Sompuraa wants to focus on temple architecture, an art that has been passed down through 12 generations. "I want to carry on my family tradition by presenting it in a more sophisticated way, so it appeals to the new generation," says Sompuraa, whose ancestors built the Somnath Temple in Gujarat, Ranakpur Temple in Rajasthan and the Dilwara temples of Mount Abu.
The unique feature of these temples is that each was built keeping in mind the elements of vastu-shastra, mythology, astrology, astronomy, and mathematics. Everything Sompuraa builds is done in accordance with these principals gleaned from a book in Sanskrit written by his forefathers. "There is not enough documentation in case anyone wants to design in Indian style," says Sompuraa, who is working dedicatedly towards changing that fact.
[HPI note: Sacred temple architecture is alive and well in many parts of India and even abroad, where master architects are hired to design temples for diasporic Hindus. However, there are regional and cultural variations on this mystical science, hence the need to preserve the many different traditions.]
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Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
KOLKATA, INDIA, September 2010: Just a few weeks before Durga Puja (Navaratri), several families of the city are organizing training camps for priests to bring authenticity into community pujas. While the old family pujas still follow tradition rigorously, when it comes to community pujas, the general complaint is that the piety gets drowned in merrymaking and that even priests take it easy.
The training camps are trying to bring back authenticity to community pujas. One such camp is on in full swing at the Daw family mansion at Girish Park. The camp is being conducted by Sanskrit scholars like Murari Mohan Bendanto Tirthaand Jayanta Kushari. At least 150 priests were being instructed why they should not take tea breaks in between the pujas and how to get the Sanskrit accents right. "The magic of the mantras lies in the diction. The right mantras will make you feel the presence of the divine, they are so powerful," said Kushari.