Mandya: Mohammad Kalimulla, 62, is a retired teacher from Nagamangala in Mandya district. But he is out on a different mission that teaches all a very important lesson- a lesson of unity.
Conserving and reviving the heritage temples of the district is the motto of this teacher, who has so far conserved four temples of historical significance in Hassan and Mandya district.
A member of the History Academy of Karnataka, Mohammad Kalimulla conserved Eshwara temple, Machalaghatta, two Chennakeshava temples of the Vijayanagara era in Mandya and Basava temple in Hirisave near Chennarayapatna.
According to Kalimulla, he developed an interest in history at a very young age. ” I completed MA in history after my retirement from the service as a teacher,” he said.
“When I was working as a teacher in Basaralu of Mandya, people were conserving a Hoysala era temple. I wrote an article about this temple which was published in a local newspaper. This is how I fell in love with old temples,” he said.
According to him tens of heritage temples in the rural areas are in ruins. “I visited many such villages and temples. All of us must join hands to conserve them which can be our best asset,” he said.
