Shiv Temple

Tucked at one end of a three way crossing and clinging to a kachori-subzi stall, it has no stately flight of stairs, no imposing tower of stone. A statue of a blue-bodied Shiv – the god of destruction – seated in a yogic posture, watches the world from the roof. The temple’s marble floor is almost level with the road. On the right of the entrance is the statue of Kal Bhairav, a scary-looking incarnation of Shiv. Worshipped by the cannibalistic Aghora sadhus, Bhairav is sculptured in black marble. A cobra is crawling round his neck. One of the six arms is carrying a wine bottle. Another arm is holding somebody’s head. The lips are painted blood red. A black dog is sculptured standing under his legs. A garland of fresh marigolds is flung around Bhairav’s neck. Some worshipper has put a similar garland on the dog too. The wall that faces Dilli Gate has a similarly haunting statue of Goddess Kali.

The principal praying room is quiet, dark and has a cluster of gods: the black Shani Devta, the grey Shiva Lingam and a couple of deities in white marble: Ganesh, Shiv, Parvati, Radha, Krishna, the Nandi bull and the Sai Baba of Shirdi. Some statues are draped in gold-embroidered silk clothes.

The visual centerpiece of the temple, however, is not an assortment of these statues but a giant peepal tree inside it. A marble platform not more than two feet high has been built around its massive trunk. The part of the trunk that emerges out of the platform is smeared with an orange-coloured paste. This smudge is Balaji, an incarnation of Hanuman.

Earlier, the tree was in what would have been a courtyard. A few years ago, the temple was renovated and a brick roof blocked off the sky. Now the trunk goes through the roof, where it breaks into a network of slanting branches. A makeshift staircase, installed beside the Shiv lingam, takes you, through a circular opening, to the roof, perpetually covered with fallen peepal leaves. Standing behind Shiva’s statue, you look down to see gossiping men, street food hawkers, maimed beggars, smack addicts, stray dogs and occasional tourists. This noisy world vanishes when you climb down back into the temple. The daylight coming from the opening in the roof fills the dark sanctum with mystery. The marble figures look kind. The ringing of temple bells is calming.