Kali News Update ; New silver and Burma teak throne for Kali

[Guest guest]

The Dakshineswar deity on her old throne .The 148-year-old throne of

the Kali image at the Dakshineswar temple — before which both

Ramakrishna and Vivekananda meditated for hours — will be

replaced by

a new one on Saturday.

 

The new 10-foot-high throne will replace the old wooden structure

encased in silver. Trustees had decided to replace it with a new one

of similar size and design when, 10 years ago, it was discovered

that the structure had become weak after years of daily puja and

other rituals. A reputed jewellery company, which was given the

charge of making the new throne, took more than three years to

complete it.

 

Kusal Chowdhury, secretary, Dakshineswar Kali Temple and Debottar

Estate, said: "Devotees will witnesses a historic moment tomorrow.

The process of replacing the throne will be accompanied by day-long

rituals." Among those expected to witness the change are Union

tourism and culture minister Jagmohan, minister of state for

northeast development Tapan Sikdar and the general secretary of

Ramakrishna Mission and Math, Swami Smaranananda. A number of state

ministers have been invited.

 

The temple authorities have decided to put on display the original

throne in the temple.

 

According to Chowdhury, the throne was first installed in 1855, when

Rani Rashmoni established the temple. Ten years ago, trustees had

detected that the wood inside the silver casing had started to rot

and the 12 wooden columns were feeble. Since then, the temple

authorities had used external support to prop it up.

 

But even after the decision to replace it was taken, seven long

years passed for the temple authorities to get the necessary

clearance. Soon after noticing the cracks, the trustees held a

meeting on July 23, 1993, and adopted a resolution to change the

throne. Then, board of trustees' chairman Tapas Banerjee, who was

appointed by Calcutta High Court as special officer, was approached.

 

Based on an appeal by the trustees, Justice Umesh Chandra Banerjee

of the high court directed that the work start on September 20,

1993. Artisans were finally engaged in 2000 to rebuild the throne.

 

"From the beginning, we gave priority to two points. We told the

agency making the new throne that it must be of the same size and

design as the original. The second point was that silver must be the

key material," Chowdhury said.

 

The artisans took three years to make the new throne, as they

meticulously maintained the design and detailing of the original

one. "All the 12 columns are encased in silver. We have used Burma

teak for the frame on top. So, it is expected to last another

century without any problem," the secretary added.

 

Reported by "Sri Janaardana Kalianandaswami" of Kali Peetham

Group on Mon Mar 31, 2003 at 4:46 am.