BHOPAL: A Class III dropout Muslim mechanic, Naru Khan Mev, has fitted a 3,700-kg Maha Ghanta (mammoth metallic bell) in the premises of Pashupatinath Temple in Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh. Khan, 66, who runs a small factory, complete the difficult task free of cost and within 10-15 days. The mammoth bell manufactured in Ahmedabad was waiting to be installed for about two years.
Acknowledging the efforts of Khan in installing the Maha Ghanta in the temple premises in a short time, the district collector Gautam Singh said, “The Maha Ghanta has been manufactured in Gujarat out of the metal pieces donated by families from across Mandsaur and nearby districts. Thanks to the efforts by Naru Bhai, the mammoth bell has been solidly fixed at the most suitable place in the temple premises. The Maha Ghanta will be dedicated to devotees in the coming days by CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan.”
According to Dinesh Nagar, the head of the Pashupatinath Temple Maha Ghanta Mandali, “The Maha Ghanta was manufactured out of brass and copper pieces and utensils donated by families across Mandsaur district. It was Naru Bhai who, along with his men, completed the onerous task of lifting the bell to the temple and then installing it at a solid foundation, which is worthy of bearing three times more weight than the 3,-700-kg bell.”
Naru Khan’s association with Pashupatinath Temple (which houses possibly world’s only eight-faced Shiva Linga) isn’t new. During the first Covid lockdown, he had got a sanitization machine installed at the temple, while in the second lockdown he had installed a bell fitted with a sensor, which would start ringing without touch by devotees.