As we walked further down the tree lined streets of old town Bhubaneswar Sai and Saswati took me to this small temple which they are proud to have revived.
It was peaceful and we were the only ones there it being afternoon time. We took darshan and sat on the floor in front of the temple as Sai narrated how they were able to revive it.
So this being Shaiva Kshetra and abounds in small and big temples scattered across the town. Taleshwar with its small compound had fallen to a dilapidated state. Here in Bhubaneswar as part of the Shaiva culture bhaang and ganja are sold openly. Infact I saw Govt. run bhaang shops. So such temples became addas for the addicts. There was no pooja done here. During large festivals at Lingaraj mandir this place was turned into a cycle stand.
Sai and Saswati took charge. With the help of other volunteers they cleaned up the overgrowth of shrubs. They spent out of their pocket to decorate the premises. That bore fruit. Now the temple has active pooja done there every day and Shivratri has been reinstated.
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