Sudha Murty’s childhood dream fulfilled: She builds temple in TN village
Sudha Murty has quietly built a temple in a remote village in Tamil Nadu, fulfilling her long-cherished desire.
A temple has come up at Ivanallur village in Mayiladuthurai district with Lord Shiva as the presiding deity. The village, with about 2000, had a few ancient idols of Shiva, Parvathi, Ganesha, Subramanya, Nandi and others placed in a small hut. The villagers regularly offered pooja, though the site lacked a proper roof or structure.
“When I was young, my grandfather used to tell me stories from the Vijayanagar empire. Scholars believed a person’s life becomes complete if he or she imparts knowledge to others, helps the needy, builds tanks and temples alike. I have the satisfaction of being part of many of these, like rejuvenation of ancient tanks and temples, but never built a temple from scratch. With the Ivanallur temple, my desire is fulfilled,” Murty, also a Rajya Sabha member, told ET.
She came to know about the ancient stone idols in the TN village from a friend. Locals believe these are about 1500 years old, and the Pandavas offered pooja there. “It is possible there was a temple which got destroyed later,” Murty said. The temple project took about 18-months to complete, said the former Chairperson of Infosys Foundation. She used her personal money for the project, Murty said, while preferring not to disclose the project cost.
She spent two days in the village last week, and participated in the temple consecration rituals. “I participated in the temple opening ceremony with a great sense of
