As we write this report, the temple sits under a morning drizzle,
partially veiled by scaffolding, with the newly gold-leafed
domes and kodimaram brightly shining under overcast skies. The
domes are the latest items on the temple’s rapidly shortening
to-do list. The gold leafing applied twelve years ago was
failing in our constant sun-and-rain tropical weather, but after
a couple of false starts, the gilders finally engineered a
system that is expected to withstand Kauai’s weather. They
completed their regilding efforts in August. In 2021 we saw the
completion of the four-foot tall, 485-foot-long lava rock wall
around the foundation, which is one of the finest examples of
stone masonry in Hawaii.
Inside the temple, the silpis focused on ornamentation. Many
months were spent addressing places where additional carving was
needed. This included areas adjacent to the temple’s famed lion
pillars, and the Namasivaya steps leading into the central
sanctum. In addition, they made excellent progress removing mold
and stains on the stone surfaces, using phosphoric acid.
Another milestone was repolishing the sanctum’s back wall. When
shipped, it was highly polished but was degraded during 20 years
of construction. Lately, the silpis worked for weeks to restore
the mirror-like finish of the rose granite. As reported in our
monthly newsletters, leaks in the roof joints allowed water to
seep through and create deposits of white calcite, mostly at the
top of pillars and along the underside of the sun shade. The
silpis, currently three in number, removed these deposits by
months of patient hand chiseling, dug out the joints and
refilled them with hydraulic grout.
The gardens on all sides of the temple are maturing into their
final shapes, forms and colors. Last year we relandscaped the
areas around Dakshinamurti, building terraces, entry stairs in
stone, planting palms, jasmines, gardenias, tropical ferns,
cycads, water lilies and rare anthuriums. The Shadkonam Arid
Garden was enhanced with dozens of desert plants. The garden
near Saint Tirumular was completely redone, and a heliconia
garden established. We planted 24,000 mondo grass bibs from
Costa Rica (they are actually lilies native to Japan), getting
ready for the day we install the groundcover close to the
temple. Muddy roads and paths were improved to allow year-around
access even during wet island days. The future garden near
Satguru Chellappaswami’s murti was cleared of weed trees and
readied for proper landscaping next year.
Months were spent composing the text and designing the graphics
for the 35 bronze panels that will be inset in the perimeter
wall. In the future, pilgrims circumambulating the temple will
enjoy reading the panels to learn of the founder, architect,
history, technology and visions that created Siva’s citadel in
the West, and exploring the mystical and philosophical
foundations of Saiva Siddhanta which Iraivan embodies.
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