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| Ayyanar Temple Guest House as seen in Sept 2009 |
In early
2008, when renovations were being carried out to the Mahasastha temple before the
Kumbhabhishekam, it was felt that there should be a small guest house which
could serve the needs of devotees during their visit to the temple as also
store temple essentials in a safe way.
Constructed with sloping country tiled roof and wooden pillars for the façade,
the cottage reminded a typical village house.
It consisted of a large hall and two sets of toilets and bathrooms. Over the last 6 years the facility has served
its purpose.
Devotees
are aware that in the past there have been several changes to the temple
priest. One of the factors for the frequent
change was the absence of a suitable accommodation within the village for their
stay. Therefore, they were visiting the
temple once a day from wherever they resided.
This sometimes led to disappointments for devotees who arrived from long distance, unannounced, for they would find the sannidhi gates closed
and no priest to even perform arathi.
It was therefore
decided to find a priest who was willing to stay at the temple so that it could
be kept open twice a day. Accordingly
the present priest was identified. He has
been staying in the cottage. However, since
it does not have a kitchen and bedroom, it is not suitable for the family of the
priest to stay. But once it is converted
to a family accommodation for his use, with suitable modifications, the
devotees may not find adequate privacy to enter the accommodation of the priest
when they need to use the bathroom / toilet, etc.
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| Plan - Existing & Proposed |
Taking into
consideration feedback received from devotees as also administrative needs, it
has been decided to build adjacent to the existing cottage, to its left side, a
small extension which will contain a hall, an attached bathroom cum toilet and a utility
room for storage of temple requirements.
The existing cottage will be modified to add a kitchen and a bedroom to become a self-contained residence for the priest. While one set of bathroom and toilet in the
existing cottage will have access from inside the priest's residence, the other will be
separated and have access from outside for casual visitors who wish to use. The extension (new Guest House) will be available for the use of devotees should they desire to stay.
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| Construction in progress of new Guest House |
As part of
the reconstruction, repairs to the cottage is also being undertaken as some
settlement has taken place over time, leading to some minor cracks. The repairs to the existing cottage and construction of the extension will cost about Rs 8 lacs.
Devotees are welcome to contribute their might which can be deposited
into temple's bank account.
