KOCHI: An abode for birds, which the principles of faith demanded. That was the concept behind the 30-metre-high construction on the Jain temple premises in Mattancherry.
The enormous birdhouse, intended to serve as home to 300 birds, was inaugurated at 9am on Sunday by temple trustee Manikant Khona. And by 12.30pm, a flock of birds — regulars at the feeding ground in the temple courtyard— perched on their new mega-home for the first time.
“For the past 25 years, the community here has been feeding the birds regularly. Since the birds had abandoned the small birdhouse we had earlier, we decided to build a new one that aligned with our faith, as a contribution to the community,” said Namrata Khona Samra, a representative of women’s collective JoyGivers which contributed the temple birdhouse. “Our initial idea was to build this using mud, like in the temples in the north. But as we found that it wouldn’t be suitable for the weather in Kerala, it was built in concrete,” she added.
The 120-year-old Jain temple in Mattancherry is one of the oldest and the liveliest of its kind in the state. The birdhouse’s design is inspired by the Jain concept of Jeevadaya (compassion towards living beings) and it has been built in the concept of the 14 stages of human life by architect Madan M J. According to him, the birdhouse project — named Jeevashraya — took only a year in planning, designing, and construction.
“The birdhouse is built as an upright structure, adhering to the spiritual concepts of Jainism. The idea was pitched last March and we were able to present the completed structure after exactly a year. The construction holds 300 separate compartments, designed for the birds to nest comfortably,” Madan said.
Detailed wall inscriptions on Jainism and the temple — set up around the birdhouse to help tourists visiting the heritage spot — were also inaugurated on the day.