Delhiwale: A tale of two temples

Two temples in Gurugram, one dedicated to Guru Ravidas with a peepal tree, the other to Bhagwan Krishna with a neem tree, each unique in their surroundings and ambiance.

It is a temple at Gurugram’s Jacobpura. It is a temple at Gurugram’s Old DLF Colony. It is dedicated to Guru Ravidas. It is dedicated to Bhagwan Krishna. Its courtyard has a peepal tree. Its courtyard has a neem tree.

The temple in Gurugram’s Old DLF Colony. (HT Photo)

Each courtyard is special, suitably complimenting the ongoing season, briefly wedged between the departed winter and the looming summer.

The Guru Ravidas temple is tucked in the centre of the old city’s congested heart, but in itself is spacious. Softly soaking under the afternoon sun, the courtyard is cozily warm. The sky is blue, so blue that it looks unreal, like a painted ceiling.

The Shree Krishna temple is tucked within a market—the surroundings are full of commercial hoardings. Softly soaking under the afternoon sun, the courtyard has its air swelling with the twittering of birds.

The first sensation one feels upon stepping into Guru Ravidas temple is the pleasant shock caused by the blue sky’s dramatic stage presence. Shaped by the temple walls into a rectangle, the sky appears to be tantalisingly close, as if it might fall into the courtyard any moment.

In the Shree Krishna temple, the courtyard floor is littered here and there with freshly fallen neem leaves. The tall shade-giving tree stands in the centre of the courtyard. An attentive ear might catch the rustling of the tree leaves in the slow-moving breeze.

At the Guru Ravidas temple, the courtyard floor is littered with peepal leaves. The tree is too austere to give sufficient shade, though. Sacred kalava threads are wound about its trunk.

The temple at Gurugram’s Jacobpura. (HT Photo)

At the Shree Krishna temple, the principal shrine, devoted to Bhagwan Krishna, consists of white walls framed with jaali patterns. Within, the same jaali screens let in the daylight discreetly—the light falls on the floor like drops of water.

At the Guru Ravidas temple, a marble slab is inscribed with the names of temple’s donors—a former MLA from nearby Pataudi donated ₹1,100.

At the Shree Krishna temple, shrines dedicated to Bhagwan Shiv and Shani Devta also claim the space. There’s a sacred Shivling, too, and a devotee is offering milk from a kalash.

On stepping outside the Guru Ravidas temple, the market chaos makes the mandir courtyard and its peepal seem fantastical.

On stepping outside the Shree Krishna temple, the serenity of the mandir dissipates, but slowly.

With the barbaric summer at the gate, the two courtyards will soon be exposed to the inevitable heatwaves.

PS: The photos are from another year.