On a temple's trail

These young Telugu men went hunting for a long-lost temple during the lockdown

- RAHUL DEVULAPALLI

IN THE 1850s or so, a series of unusual events rocked Perumallapadu village on the River Penna, which empties into the Bay of Bengal. One day, the village, which was then part of the Madras Presidency, woke up to the news of a village elder’s death. Mourners carried Vemana Narsapa Naidu’s body to the cremation grounds outside the village. Legend has it that, just before lighting the pyre, a relative whispered a few words in his ears as per Hindu custom. Suddenly, Naidu sprung back to life. He then told the mourners that he had received divine instructions to restore a Shiva temple built by Parasurama. In the years that followed, Naidu reconstructed the temple, which came to be known as the Sri Nageswara temple.

“He restored the temple, dug a koneru (pond) and reared a tamarind grove with his property. The temple is in the shape of a tower. Nandeeswara is installed in front of this temple,” reads an excerpt from a 1961 manual, which is in the possession of the state archaeology and museums department.

Lore has it that around 60 years ago the Penna river changed course after a flood. The temple itself was buried by the sand and debris carried by the floodwaters. The floods forced the villagers to shift 1km away. Over time, the 800-odd villagers forgot the location of the temple.

Cut to 2020. Till early this year, Potugunta Vara Prasad was busy developing software at an IT firm in Stockholm. And then the pandemic struck. Prasad, 36, was given the option of staying put in Sweden or returning to India and working from home. He chose the latter, wanting to be with his parents, wife and son in Perumallapadu, in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh.