As buses roar past Maha Hanuman Mandir, a temple hidden among a line of auto workshops, its keeper Mansingh solemnly sits inside, a few feet away from the remains of the building awaiting renovation for the past five months.
On Akbar Road, opposite Muslim Tea Corner, a shutter lies in wait to be pulled down as a beige sheet covers the entrance to the temple, built by the Hindu Dhobi community in colonial times.
“The Hindu Dhobi community lived near the area. In fact, many of its members still do so near Empress Market,” says Mansingh. “The constructions we see now were not there earlier obviously, and the three temples built by them were easily accessible to all.”
A cinema operator in his youth, Mansingh worked at the Capital Cinema which was later shut down, but now he serves the temple. Yet he has turned away from what goes in the temple in terms of its renovation, a step taken by the Sindh government to salvage the heritage building.
The Maha Hanuman Mandir was among the few were ravaged by religious zealots following the 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid in India.
“Unlike other mandirs which were cordoned off, this one was on the main road so it was more vulnerable, rather it still is. Some men threw a grenade inside it that destroyed a six feet tall murti of Hanuman. They also took away fans and furniture. We were left terrible scared and the temple remained shut for around 10 years,” Mansingh shakes his head as he tries to think if was seven or 10 years.
“The statue was one of the most beautiful ones I had ever seen and it was blown to pieces. That stonework is impossible to find today as the sculptors who work with cement or plaster of Paris do their job in haste hence there is no finishing,” he adds.
However, he does admit that though it is costly to bring murtis from India, the craftsmen there do a marvellous job. Although his devotion to the temple is commendable, he feels he is too old to run after builders and contractors. He adds that a committee by the name of the ‘Hanuman Mandir Committee’ does the job well.
One representative, Sunil Kumar, is hopeful that even though the work is slow, it will benefit the temple because the State is finally taking interest and is even adding another storey to it to accommodate more devotees.
Mansingh says thee community’s elders had reopened the mandir after it was closed in 1999 or perhaps a few years after that. “When we went inside the temple, it was murky and there was dust everywhere. We cleaned everything ourselves, worked on the sewer and water supply pipelines,” he recalls.
“People would throng the mandir earlier when the conditions were better but now it remains empty because those who do want to come can’t sit anywhere. The debris of damaged walls is scattered all over so it’s very problematic for them too. If the authorities revamping the temple would at least speed up work on the ground floor, we’ll be able to accommodate the devotees,” he adds.
Despite the commotion, Mansingh keeps asking about the time because he needs to fetch incense and oil for lamps. “We light them up on Tuesdays and Saturdays and I arrange milk for the rituals on Mondays. Gone are the days when it was difficult to find a place to sit in here.”
With the rising tension between communities in recent times, the temple’s keeper fears of what may come as some frequently come to its entrance to cause trouble.
“Earlier, nobody would walk in our temple just like that because people held extreme reverence for a place of worship irrespective of their own beliefs. Now these lads coming out of their madrasas come to us and ask us about our beliefs as to why do we place our faith in animals,” says Mansingh.
“It’s frustrating, yes, but I don’t want to pick an argument so I tell them to not bother us,” he lets out a sigh.
“All I say is that when I respect your beliefs, why can’t respect mine? We all believe in the same tenets, follow one path in our own unique ways hence I fail to comprehend their contempt for our faith,” he says joining his palms together.
Mansingh doubts that the renovation of the temple will be completed till the 11th of the next month. But Pakistan Hindu Council representative Mangla Sharma maintains that it will be ready for the celebration of Hanuman Jayanti falling on the same day.
“There were some logistical problems with the contractors in the project but we have called a meeting to address the issue. The grants have also been sanctioned so I am sure that work will not stop,” she adds.