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Work on controversial Ayodhya temple slows down

Sharat Pradhan in Ayodhya

There is a lot of speculation about the imminence of the construction phase of the Ram temple at Ayodhya. But for artisans working at the Vishwa Hindu Parishad workshop for the last eight years, it could take ten more years. They say they have not completed even a quarter of the work till now.

And flying in the face of claims that carving of stones has speeded up after the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in Uttar Pradesh and at the Centre, work has, in fact, slowed down, the reasons being purely commercial. For, like other parsimonious employers, the VHP too tries to scrimp on the money spent on wages.

"Nobody likes to work here for long. The moment one gets an opportunity, one goes off to a better paying job," said a sculptor who has been here for a couple of years.

The wages range between Rs 90 and Rs 125 per day. "Rickshaw pullers earn more than what we are paid," complains another sculptor. He says their work, though monotonous, demanded precision and concentration. "But under the circumstance, I wonder how many of us can really concentrate," he said.

Hira Mani has worked at the VHP's Ayodhya workshop for the longest time and is therefore among the better paid sculptors (he gets Rs 110 per day). He has seen many artisans leaving the job within a few months or maybe a year. "You see, most sculptors have come here all the way from the remote corners of Rajasthan, leaving their families behind," he said, adding, "Surely, you don't expect one to be able to run two establishments with a meagre sum of Rs 90 to Rs 100 per day." Hira Mani has a better time since he hails from southern Uttar Pradesh. "I am therefore able to make my two ends meet," he says.

Says Lakhi Ram, a younger artisan from Rajasthan, "it is my devotion to Lord Ram that makes me continue working here. Otherwise, I would have marched off long ago." Others are not so devoted, and so the number of artisans have reduced from 100 to just about 50 now.

There are others, who are already looking for better opportunities outside. "Several of our colleagues went on leave, never to return, simply because they managed to get better paid jobs closer to home", remarked another middle-aged sculptor who has been working on one of the proposed 212 pillars required for the temple. And showing his skills with the chisel and hammer on this pillar he goes on to narrate how, "it takes years to bring a single pillar to shape." He has been working on this pillar for the past year without being able to complete even half the carvings on it.

VHP overseer Anubhai Sompura feels that even if the three workshops, two of which are in Rajasthan, step on the gas, the work will not be over in the next 10 years. "Even if we employ double the number of sculptors, it will take not less than five years to simply get the 212 pillars ready," he says. "And even if we have the stones ready to build the walls, that would not be enough. After all, a double-storeyed temple of this size (228 feet, 5 inches in length, 180 feet in width and 128 feet high) would require a foundation, floor and roof and all the would take a lot time," he says.

"The Somnath temple that was started in 1949 is now nearing completion, after about 50 years. How can you expect the Ayodhya temple to be erected in no time?" he asks.

Sompura finds the charge of various non-BJP parties amusing that, "we will assemble the whole temple in a matter of days or months sine the whole structure was pre-fabricated. "He goes on to argue, "perhaps they are not aware that most of our ancient temples were built with pre-chiseled and cut stones without the use of cement mortar or steel -- in fact it is a misnomer to describe it as pre-fabricated, because the term is used only in case of cement concrete structures."

He says the Ayodhya temple will be built entirely in pink sandstone and in a manner that the structure will be formed of one block of grooved or slotted stone resting on the other.

The overseer admits that the VHP plans to speed up work. And as a part of this plan, it has bought about two acres of private land to expand the existing workshop.

"We do realise that the sculptors and artisans need better facilities. So we will now provide them living accommodation on the new plot. A new workshop is also proposed," he says. So far, the artisans have been living out of thatched sheds in the VHP's karsevakpuram.

And asked if the VHP was also considering raising the workers' wages, he said, "These people are here not to earn a living, but because of their devotion for Lord Ram." But he added reluctantly, "But, of course, an appreciable hike in their remuneration is also under active consideration."

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