Views of the Old Temple

Here are some photos of the temple, as of December 2012.

The entrance:

The main temple dome:

The main mandap and main temple building:

After construction work has begun. You can see the bamboo scaffolding:

How to Follow the Temple's Restoration Progress

If you remember to visit here, that's great. But you don't have to come here to get the updates posted here.

There are a few ways you can get updates delivered to you, about the progress of restoring the temple:

• If you'd like updates on Facebook, visit our Facebook Page and click on "like." Updates will show up in your Facebook.

• If you'd like updates in your email, just put your email address in the box in the right column.

• If you want updates in a reader like My Yahoo or Google Reader, click on Feedburner and follow the instructions there.

• You can find pictures at Flickr.

The Temple: Images Before Restoration

The next few posts will share photos taken before the restoration began, documenting the state of the temple.

Dwajasthambam, original to the temple, made of wood. It is estimated to be about 50 feet long. A new one that will replace this will be about five feet in circumference, or nearly twice the size. When the lumber merchant learned about the restoration project, he offered to give his materials and services at no cost.

This elephant is one of several items carried around in the processions that used to happen a few times a year. It would have been pristine with rich lacquer colors, but the paint is gone and you can see the staples holding the structure together. This and similar pieces will be restored.

The main mandap is clearly overgrown with flora of every kind over many decades. The roots have embedded deep in the structure and will take painstaking work to remove.

These images show close-up views of the extensive restoration challenges. In the next post we will share more panoramic photos of the temple grounds.

The Village: Where is Osur?

Here is where the village of Osur is located on a map of India.

Here’s the village and its surroundings as shown by the satellite view on Google Maps.

The village is just off of Orathikadamalaiputhur Rd, in an agricultural area of rural Southern India.

Below you can see the streets and homes of the village. The male population is 1,344 and female population is 1,345. Total population is almost 2,700 people.

This next satellite photo gives you an idea of the rural farmland surrounding the village.

Osur village is located in the Tiruvannamalai district in the State of Tamil Nadu. As you can see below, the village is southwest of Chennai and northwest of Pondicherry. It's about two hours by road from Chennai which is about 92 km away.

Osur is 70 km from the city of Tiruvannamalai. Nearby villages and towns are: Punnai (1.9 km), Badhur (2.2 km), Marudadu (4 km), Ammanambakkam (4 km), Kottai (4.2 km), Vandavasi (10.8 km), Thellar (14.4 km), Cheyyar (27.2 km) and Pernamallur (29 km).