BENGALURU: Temple tanks in the city, locally known as ‘kalyani’, are facing a similar plight that the dying lakes are being subjected to. In a city that was once famously known for its temple tanks as old as 1,000 years, there are now hardly any left, several dried up. Traditional temples have usually had a water well inside the temple and a tank on the outside. The water from these reservoirs has been used for religious duties and for consumption. The kalyani, which has traditionally been used as a social centre, was also used for bathing and washing clothes. Most of these kalyanis today, have either dried up or left polluted.
In an article, Meera Iyer of INTACH writes temple tanks not only played a prominent role in rituals but also maintained ground water levels. Temple tanks are usually square, rectangular or stepped, located to the northeast of the temple. Most tanks in Bengaluru are filled rain or by aquifers or both.
Panchalingeshpura Temple, which is more than a 100 years old, is one such temple that has seen its kalyani dry up over the years. S Ganesh, a resident who stays near the temple, says, “The kalyani is now an open ground where people play cricket.”
However, not all kalyanis in the city are left to dry in this manner. The Vasantha Vallabha Temple in Vasanthpura that has been in deplorable conditions for some years now, is getting reconstructed. The temple supervisor, Raj Shekhar, says, “A corporate company is taking care of it. They will be clearing all the polluted water and will refill the kalyani with fresh water. During teppotsavam, we have a ritual that we do around the kalyani.”