Hindu Temples in Singapore Undergo Multi-Million Dollar Facelift

The 164-year-old Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple in Little India, Singapore, is being given a S$4 million facelift. Following the renovation process, a resanctification ceremony will be held at the temple on April 22.

Work has been going on at the temple structure for around a year to give it a facelift. The process has so far been as per schedule. A team of 19 highly skilled artisans and a chief sculptor from India is trying to stick to the color palette of the original temple to give it a new lease of life, according to the Straits Times.

The process to restore and resanctificy Hindu temples in Singapore is conducted every 12 years, PTI reported. The Hindu Endowments Board supports the process financially, along with asking donors to contribute for the restoration process.

Meanwhile, after undergoing renovation for a year, the Arulmigu Velmurugan Gnana Muneeswarar Temple (AVGMT) in Sengkang, Singapore, finally opened its doors to devotees in March.

Around 5,000 Hindu devotees held a consecration ceremony at the temple, which was led by Singapore’s Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam. The ceremony was also attended by the Punggol East member of parliament Charles Chong. This marked the end of the renovation process worth S$4 million, used to give the temple a facelift, PTI reported.

The renovation process has given the temple a new facade, upgraded facilities and a multi-purpose hall. The temple is the first one in Singapore to bring three temples under a single roof — the Arulmigu Velmurugan Temple, the Sri Krishna Bhagwan Durga Parameswari Devasthanam and the Sri Mariamman Muneeswarar Temple. The temple conducted its second Maha Kumbabishegam, or consecration ceremony, on March 4. Its first consecration was held when it opened in 2006. The temple was partially open during the renovation.

The measure to renovate temples in Singapore was taken in the late 1990s, when the city state was developing rapidly and the small temples that catered to a specific locality or group lacked sufficient funds to meet the growing needs of the devotees, reported the Straits Times.

According to Shanmugam, three Chinese temples in the neighborhood — Chong Ghee Temple, Kampong Tengah Thian Hou Keng Temple and Chong Hua Tong Tou Teck Hwee Temple — also pitched in for the ceremony with volunteers helping to distribute food to devotees. The Hindu temple works with these Chinese temples in the neighborhood for various community activities, with devotees taking part in the religious festivals of each other, making the ceremony very “multicultural,” Shanmugam said.

“So you have many Hindu as well as non-Hindu volunteers coming together; it’s very nice to see,” Shanmugam said at the ceremony, the Straits Times reported.