Sharjeel Ahmed BS iii Feature (English)

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A Temple’s Tale

While passing through the Tando Wali Muhammad Khan area, Hirabad, I witness a lot of modern buildings and British era buildings, but in between those structures I found a yellow temple, which has shikhara (spire) and a small umbrellaesque structure right beside it, which immediately caught my attention. Just below the spire I found a really long name of temple, i.e. Goswamiparshotam  Gir Chela Goswaminihal Gir. It was not an ordinary temple it carries really deep history.

Goswamiparshotam Gir Chela Goswaminihal Gir Temple was initially built a way back in 1895, making it more than a century old. However, it was rebuild in 1945. When I started entering the temple, I found really narrow entrance, a bit lower than a street level, and so was its ceiling. I also found an old water-tap on the left, and a small door which was leading to the small room on the right side. Just beside that door, I found a staircase which was leading to the sanctuary. When I looked up from there, I found that spire which was giving actually pleasing look, indeed it was beautiful in its own regard.

As soon as I reached inside that temple, where worshipers do worship, I found there the statue of Hanuman, according to some worshipers and caretaker, this Murti (statue) was brought here by the worshipers, otherwise this Mandir (Temple) is Shiv Mandir, known as Shiv Shanker Mahadev Temple, and caretaker pointed at Shiva’s Murti, which was right in opposite room of Hunman’s Murti.

The door through which I entered in the room, where Shiv ling were placed, was decorated with green leaves and flowers. When I entered the room, I found the Sculpture of Bull, which is called Nandi. According to some Gurus and Scholar of Hindu religion, “Nandi was the guardian god of Kailasa, the house of Lord Shiva.”

This temple is being taken cared by Ashok Kumar Menghawar and by his elders. The story of Ashok and his family is too absorbing. He, his family and his elders are taking care of this temple for a while as they couldn’t leave during the partition. The rising of communalism violence in the neighborhood, forced Hindus to leave their houses and properties and homelands, and  migrate to India but Ashok’s elders couldn’t. Ashok says, “There was a sudden death in the family and the series of the other events, which actually made our elders to stay in Hyderabad. My baba was quite young when he witnessed all these.”

According to worshipers, this temple was used as an Ashram, but lately it was encroached by some organizations and agencies. Consequently, today, modern structures can be found in front of temple, what used to be the property of temple. According to some sources, the temple remained closed for a long time after the partition. Some cast and communities like, Bheel, Kolhi and Menghwar, played vital role in restoring the temple once again.

They also mentioned that after the restoration of the temple, a few high class communities (Brahmans) made an issue, that is, the lower class communities don’t have any right to own gods by themselves, because they are poor, they can’t take care of holy places.

According to the caretaker, after the few years of the reopening of temple, Auqaf, a department of the Government of Sindh, seized the ground floor of temple, later on, where an Imam of nearby Masjid opened Madarsa there, which was causing a lot of conflict between the worshipers from the both religions. According to temple worshipers, minority leaders approached them, to help them in getting out from this trouble, but unfortunately, until this day, none of those high profile ministers and minority leaders took any action on this matter.

Caretaker also told about the Satsang, a hymn session that occurs in that temple on every Monday and an annual Maha Shivratri Festival which is celebrated by every hindu community across Pakistan and beyond, and this always becomes the reason of blocking the road.

I lamented when I saw the historical heritage in such condition. This tale is not only of this temple but also of many historical buildings and other heritage sites, which are being ignored by the Government. It is important for all of us to protect these heritages, otherwise our generation would be the last generation who will be seeing these historical buildings.