UDHAGAMANDALAM: It is probably the only known hospital temple in India. The tiny ‘Maha Sakthi’ temple inside Fakeer Mohammed Sait’s Memorial Hospital— the Arulmigu Sree Maha Muneeswarar Koil that celebrated its twentieth annual festival last week—holds a special attraction for pregnant women. They believe that the temple gives these women the power to deliver their children without excessive labour pangs.
Situated in the middle of Government Maternity Headquarters Hospital—popularly known as Sait Hospital—after Mohammed Sait who donated the building two and a half decades ago—the koil is perhaps the only one in the district where a woman performs puja. The Saits are a philanthropic family from Udhagamandalam. Although ostensibly a Hindu temple, it bears symbols of all religions in the sanctum sanctorum—a crucifix for Christians to worship, Om Muruga for Hindus and a crescent moon and star for Muslims.
The elderly woman priest M Kalliammal recalls, “I continue to be happy that Maha Muneeswarar is showering blessings on women who come to Sait hospital to give birth. The government has improved facilities at this hospital in the larger interest of the poor.”
The hospital caters to the needs of the entire hill district. At any time, the head count is between 50 to 70. Many women with grown-up children come here to worship as they have delivered their babies at this hospital. Though the hospital is sometimes understaffed and doctors never stay for long, it has become a refuge for would-be-mothers, especially from poor families in the district when their time comes.
