Sri Krishnan Temple
152 Waterloo Street, Singapore 187961
In 1870 the Sri Krishnan Temple had its humble beginnings when Hanuman Beem Singh found a Banyan tree (arasa maram) in an open field in Waterloo Street and this locality became sanctified when it became the site of the present Sri Krishnan Temple. He cleared the ground around the tree and placed the deities of Sri Vignershwarar and Sri Hanuman at the foot of the tree, converting it into a shrine. He commenced to conduct his own poojah - the worshipping of images/idols, considered to be one of the best aids to realization as an easy step for the ignorant to lead their minds to the Lord on account of the greater facility of conception of a concrete object than an abstract idea. This was attended by the Hindus in the neighborhood.
As the Hindu community in the neighbourhood bounded by Bras Basah Road, Victoria Street and Albert Street grew larger, Beem Singh saw the need to improve the shrine and constructed a platform and placed a deity of Lord Krishana there. Eventually he built an attap shed and erected a fence around the shed.
As its congregation of Hindus grew so did the Temple. When Beem Singh was too old to manage the Temple he passed it on to his son Humna Somapah. Because Humna Somapah was financially well off, he erected a proper fence around the temple grounds and also built a temple hall with Chinese roof tiles but the main sanctum was still of attap and the rest under zinc roof. A Brahmin priest from India was also engage to conduct formal poojah and other ceremonies in the temple.
In 1904 Humna Somapah entrusted the management of the temple to his niece Joognee Ammal and she built the main shrine. In 1935 she requested V. Pakirisamy Pillai to manage the Temple. Pillai built the Hall and the walls of the Temple and dedicated them to the memory of his mother Alamayloo Ammal. When Pillai died in May 1984 his son P. Sivaraman took over the management and was responsible for major renovations to the Temple in 1987 that included the building of the main entrance, a gopuram and additional sanctums. Under Sivaraman's guidance further improvements and development works continued including an ancillary block extension with multi-purpose halls.
The temple has since developed from its humble beginnings to the present-day Sri Krishnan Temple, where it is adorned with ornately sculpted monuments and deities by craftsmen from North and South India. The Sri Krishnan temple has become a significant landmark in building religious harmony in Singapore, with its new ancillary block housing multi-purpose halls to cater to the cultural and spiritual needs of the public. Additionally, the spirit of inter-religious harmony is evident in the unique relationship that the Sri Krishnan Temple has developed with members of different communities.
The Temple has been at its present site for more than 130 years and was gazetted as a Historic Site in 24 November 2002.
|
