Interview: Architects Of The Shri Rama Janmabhoomi Temple In Ayodhya

How Rama Mandir Architects, The Sompuras, Kept Alive The Sacred Design Over A Three-Decade-Long Journey To Reality

Dear Reader, 

You know who 'Trads' are, right? This is the first and hopefully the last time I want to mention them when talking about something related to the Shri Rama Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya. 

In the last few days, social media has been host to a lot of whining and complaining by the group referred to above. It's grouse? The temple being constructed in Ayodhya is not traditional enough. Most complained that it wasn't traditional at all. 

We decided to ask the architects of the temple themselves—the Sompuras of Ahmedabad. This is the same family which had designed the reconstructed Somnath temple, and many others since. They shared their four decade-long journey of designing the temple, and then overseeing its construction, with my colleague, Ankit Saxena. 

You can read the full piece here. By the time you are done, any questions about the temple in Ayodhya being traditional or not would have been laid to rest. You have my word.

'But how traditional are the Sompuras themselves?', did you say? I leave you with this quote from the piece: "It is believed that their [the Sompuras] lineage received the divine gift of temple architectural artistry from Vishwakarma Dev. Being residents of the Moon [Soma], Brahma Dev summoned them to come to Earth to continue the sacred practice of building temples."

Until next time,

Arush

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