31 May 2007

Hanuman at Jhandewalan


While going to school the most interesting sight was the Hanuman being constructed at the circle where Jhandewalan meets Pusa Road. For seventeen years they tried. It got completed last year.

As our school bus would pass near the scaffolding holding up the statue we would wonder – when would this be finished? Apparently the problem was that initially they planned to make it out of mud and they could not get the material right. Each summer it would crack up and then some part of it would be washed away in the rains.

Each year the temple guys would plan again. At one point the scaffolding covered part of the road. Most of us used to worry that the whole thing would topple over one day.

Finally it got completed just as the metro unleashed its line across the circle. The contractor decided to mix the right amount of cement, I guess. Now it stands out like an imperial lord opening his heart to Karol Bagh. Legs firmly planted on both sides of the temple, it invites devotees inside. The scaffolding is gone. Try to catch the views if you are that side of town.

Image courtesy : Grey Cell

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

i too watched the statue come up for many years and am not quite sure whether it adds anything to the skyline per se....and also it begs an important question - did the gods tell the temple builders that the metro would run that way? so we could have the god look over the metro and into our travelling lives? gives a whole new meaning to an omniscient god...no?