Temple or mosque: a village finds place for both

The debris of an old Gowri Sankara temple, which was destroyed years ago, were recovered from a land near the half-a-century old Hidhayathul Islam Secondary Madrasa a few weeks ago. Instead of using the opportunity to gain publicity, panchayat authorities held talks with representatives of both communities. Initially, the reconstruction of the temple seemed impossible, as the site was very close to the madrasa and the Farookabad mosque.

The land, locals informed, belonged to Mangalasseri Illam years ago. But ownership of the land changed several times before it reached the hands of Puttekkadan Abdul Nasar.

The panchayat informally constituted a committee comprising panchayat members A P Ashraf and Arakkal Bava, Mohanan Namboothiri of Mangalasseri Illam, V P Dineshan and Choksi Abdul Nasar. Ashraf said since the land was handed over to various parties from Mangalasseri Illam, they sought the help of Mohanan to solve the issue.

“Though there were minor disagreements between the representatives of both communities on the reconstruction of the temple, Nasar said he was not hesitant to hand over the land for construction of the temple,” he said.

Even after Nasar gave his approval for reconstruction of the temple on the land, the committee kept it a secret to avoid any untoward incident. They then convinced others and told them to maintain communal harmony.

Committee member Dineshan said the Gowri Sanakra temple was part of the Kadampuzha temple. “The legend is that Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi had lived here for nearly four years. It is believed that the temple was constructed nearly 3,000 years ago,” he said.