Malai Mandir , Delhi








Malai Mandir  Delhi (akka)  Uttara Swamimalai

         This is a nearly 50 year old  South Indian Temple in south Delhi in R K Puram area.   Ramakrishna Puram was developed as a residential locality in  south Delhi in 1960s with the construction of staff quarters for the Goverment servants of independent India.  The bureaucracy of independent  India  at senior and junior levels was dominated by Madrasis and Bengalies. A good number of south indians (majority Tamils) settled here in the quarters allotted to them in 1960s.  The temple arose out of their religious needs.

        The foundation stone of the Temple was laid in Sep 1965 by Shri Bakthavatsalam the then Chief Minister of Madras state in the presence of Shri Lal Bahadur Sastri the then Prime Minister. Out of the donations given by philonthropists snd common man the Murugan Sannidhi on the hillock was constructed  and Kumbabhishekam done in June 1973.  It is a coincidence that Murugan temples many of whom are in hills/mountains is built on a small hillock here in Delhi too.  The shrines on the basement of Karpaga Vinayagar, Sundareswarar and Devi Kamatchi were added in 1990 and Navagraha Sannidhi in 1995.  The Moolavar Swaminatha Swami is in a standing pose as in the Temple of Swamimalai near Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu and hence the Temple is also called Uttara Swamimalai.

     The temple has a vibrant system of festivals all through the year including  Kanda Shasti, Thaipusam, Navarathri, Vaikasi Visakam and Adi Krithigai.  The devotees of the Temple among others include those from South, North and even Sikhs.  It is a symbol of Dravidian Temple architecture in this part of India.  The temple is well maintained and has a beautiful hall called Adi Sankara Hall for discourses/music programmes inaugurated in 1997. Certainly  a good place for the teeming South Indians to reinvent their culture / practices.

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