Sri Ramanathaswamy Temple car that was given a glass enclosure at Rameswaram.

Rameswaram, October 13, 2013: The century-old Ambal Temple car of the ancient Sri Ramanathaswamy Temple here, which had been kept inside a tin sheet cover outside the temple after festival processions, is now showcased in a glass enclosure, much to the delight of the devotees.

After replacing the wooden wheels of the car with iron wheels, made by the Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), Tiruchi, the temple authorities decided to showcase the artistic beauty of the iconic Ambal and Swamy temple cars in glass enclosures as instructed by P. Dhanapal, Commissioner, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department.

C. Selvaraj, Joint Commissioner, HR&CE Department, said the decision to keep the temple cars inside glass enclosures was part of measures drawn to protect them. The shed for the Ambal Temple car had been built at a cost of Rs.3.85 lakh, he said.

While the bottom portion of the shed was enclosed with galvanised iron sheets coated with erosion-proof paint, the middle portion was covered with glass panels, providing visibility of the car, and the roof had erosion-free Galvalume sheets, he said.

K. Mayilvakanan, Temple Assistant Divisional Engineer, said the work on the glass enclosure for Sri Ramanathaswamy Temple car had started, and it would be ready by the month end. The wooden wheels of the car would also be replaced with iron wheels. The BHEL had made the iron wheels at a cost of Rs.4.5 lakh, he noted.

The Ambal Temple car, on which the deity of Goddess Paravathavardhini Ambal was mounted twice a year, was drawn by hundreds of devotees on the four Car Streets around the temple during Maha Shivaratri and Aadi festivals. The deity of Lord Ramanathaswamy was taken in a car procession once a year during Maha Shivaratri, he pointed out.

Mr. Mayilvakanan said the year-long painting works in the third corridor of the temple had been completed at a cost of Rs.54 lakh. He said water jet washing to restore the granite structure in the inner and outer prakaras of Swami and Ambal sannathis had been taken up at a cost of Rs.75 lakh. The stone wall pillars in the prakaras would be given preservative coatings and the works would be completed in a year, he added.

Source: The Hindu, October 13, 2013