Sachin Tendulkar, gets new temple in Bihar by Bhojpuri film star Manoj Tiwari

Sachin Tendulkar, the most celebrated cricketer in India, who is worshipped as the "God of cricket" by his millions of fans, is now all set to get a temple in Bihar in his honour. The temple, which has been built in Bihar's Kaimur district has been dedicated as a tribute to Tendulkar with a "life-sized statue" for his immense contribution and wonderful career in cricket. 

The decision to erect the temple for Sachin was taken by Bhojpuri actor and singer Manoj Tiwari, who is an ardent fan of Sachin. The white marble statue was erected amid the chanting of Vedic prayers in Atarwalia, the village of Manoj Tiwari in Kaimur district. "It is a small gesture for the 'God of Cricket'," Manoj Tiwari said. "It is a small gesture for the 'God of Cricket'," Tiwari told media in the village. Tiwari said Tendulkar, who played his last cricket match for India against West Indies in Mumbai, was "an incarnation of God in the world of cricket". 

Sachin bid farewell to his long cricket- career at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Saturday. In an emotional speech, Sachin thanked everyone from his family to his fans for supporting him and giving him so much love. Soon after his retirement, the centre government announced that the India's highest civilian honour, "Bharat Ratna" will be conferred to the cricketer legend.

Thai commandos guard 300 kg gold for Mahabodhi temple

Two dozen commandos from Thailand are guarding nearly 300 kg gold in 13 boxes in Bihar's Bodh Gaya town as work began to cover the dome of 1,500-year old Mahabodhi temple in glitter.

The much awaited work to gold-plate the dome is being carried out by a team of technical experts from Thailand, officials said.

Two days after the 289 kg gold, donated by Buddhist devotees from Thailand, was brought at Bodh Gaya in a special plane from Bangkok, technical experts have finally started the work under tight security in and around the temple, said N. Dorjee, secretary of the Bodh Gaya temple management committee.

"It is a happy moment for all of us that the spire of the temple will get a glittering look with gold," Dorjee said.

Arvind Kumar Singh, a member of the committee, said the work by experts from Thailand is being videographed since it involves handling gold.

"A 40-member team, including a dozen experts and two dozen commandos, from Thailand arrived at Bodh Gaya with gold in 13 boxes to complete the work in 40 to 50 days," Singh said.

He said the team is led by Thailand's former deputy prime minister General Pricha.
"About 24 Thailand commandos are providing security to the gold boxes kept in the temple premises," Singh said.

The district administration too has deployed additional security to safeguard the gold.

Thailand-based company Kreing Thavorn Containers Co. Ltd. is carrying out the work.
Dorjee said last year Thailand's King Bhumibol Atulya took the decision to cover the dome of the temple with gold.

But it took some time to get clearance from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for the work. The ASI officials will also provide technical supervision for the gold inlay work.

A special prayer will be held under the holy Bodhi tree behind the main temple Nov 16 in which around 500 devotees from Thailand, including those who donated gold, are likely to participate, Dorjee said.

According to him, the first phase of the work involving chemical treatment was completed in August to prepare the foundation for gold plating.

"Now stairs have been installed around the temple's dome to enable experts to reach the top of the structure to inlay it with thin gold sheet," he said.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has also shown keen interest in the work.
A string of low-intensity bombs exploded in the temple complex in July. But there were no casualties and no damage was caused to the structure.

The ancient 180 feet structure of the Mahabodhi temple is estimated to have been built between the 5th and 6th century AD. It was lost and rediscovered in the 19th century by Alexander Cunningham, who founded the ASI in 1861.

The Mahabodhi temple is the holiest pilgrimage centre for Buddhists from around the world. It marks the place where Lord Gautama is believed to attained his enlightenment, turning him into the Buddha.

World's largest Hindu temple to come up in Bihar

The world's largest Hindu temple, with a towering height of 405 feet and a hall with a seating capacity for 20,000, is to be built in Bihar, an official said Wednesday. The construction of the temple is to start after Durga Puja in Bihar's West Champaran district, said an official of the trust that is undertaking the ambitious project. 

The proposed Virat Ramayan Mandir, at Janki Nagar near Kesaria in West Champaran district, about 125 km from here, will stand almost double the height of world-famous 12th century Angkor Wat temple complex in Cambodia, which is 215 feet high. The compelx will comprise of 18 temples with high spires, and its Shiv temple would have the largest Shivling in the world, another distinction. "The construction work will start after Durga Puja this month," Acharya Kishore Kunal, secretary of Patna-based cash-rich Mahavir Mandir Trust, said. Virat Ramayan Mandir will stand almost double the height of Angkor Wat temple. Kunal, a retired IPS officer and the man behind the mega project, said work of earth filling at the 190 acre site is going on since last month. He said the temple would have a whopping seating capacity of 20,000 in the hall facing the main temple, which will have the idols of Ram, Sita, Luv and Kush. According to him, no temple in the world has such a huge seating capacity. The temple is to be built at a cost of over Rs.500 crore. He said earlier the temple was named `Virat Angkor Wat Ram Mandir' but later its name was changed following objection by some people in Cambodia. Angkor Wat was built during Hindu king Suryavarman's rule and is today a Unesco World Heritage site. "The funds for the temple will be donated by devotees, particularly common people across the country," Kunal said.

Source: oneIndia