Amidst the urban pandemonium, relentless rush plus the perennial angst of city life, the young and the elderly living within the Jagannath Hall, University of Dhaka, find spiritual reprieve at the Shiva temple within the hall premises, just beside the pond.
The temple’s architecture follows the traditional pattern and although the present one is about twenty years old, as per local lore, there was a temple here when the university was constructed back in 1921.
Speaking about the temple, Alok, a resident of Jagannath Hall and a staffer of the University of Dhaka, says enthusiastically that he has grown up seeing and venerating the place of worship.
Every Monday, a special ritual is held here with prayers and offerings to Lord Shiva, he added.
On a placid Wednesday, rain refreshed afternoon, we made our way into the Jagannath Hall, which is intertwined with the bloody birth of Bangladesh.
On 15 October 1985, there was a tragedy here when the roof of the Assembly Hall collapsed after a day of heavy rainfall, killing forty persons and injuring hundreds.
Today, the Jagannath Hall has a sprawling multi storied modern and safe dormitory for students; although to appreciate the charm and the spiritual appeal of the Shiva temple, one will have to slice off the modern building from the mind.
Located just beside the pond, the Shiva temple has a fascinating history. Alok tells me that long before the university, there was a temple here, devoted to Goddess Kali.
We heard that when the construction of the university began, a temple was already in place, he added.
Nodding to what Alok said, Dipok, another university staffer, who lives at the nearby Shiv Bari residential area, said that fifty years ago, as a child, he heard from his grandparents that after the previous one fell into a state of dereliction, a Brahmin family set up residence at the spot.
The optimum time to come here is at night after everyone’s fallen asleep, the silence surrounding the temple plus the still water of the pond and often a gentle breeze trigger a prolonged period of bliss, says Alok.
But how about spending a few hours here during twilight during a drizzle?
That would be ethereal.
As evening grew near, students came to pay their end of day respect with Alok and Dipok prostrating themselves before the serene and benevolent figure of Lord Shiva within the holy structure.
God Shiva is the destroyer, but this destruction is about ending the old and making way for the new, and that applies to each and every one of us, observed one student.
Suddenly, in that placid environment surrounding the place of worship, the visit did not seem coincidental at all.
It seemed destiny had planned it for us.
The line regarding the end of the old to usher in the new, struck a chord with this writer’s life.
The Maghrib call to prayer filled the air while the serenity surrounding the Shiva temple compounded a feeling of transcendental contentment.
The melodious Azan and the peace surrounding the temple made all the materialistic temptations plus human prejudices totally hollow.
