KARACHI: The Culture Tourism and Antiquities Department of the Government of Sindh paid a visit to the historic Shri Panchmukhi Hanuman Mandir in Soldier Bazaar after the recent excavation of several idols and artifacts from there and they believe that the temple is not as old as it was thought to be.

Mohammad Shah Bukhari, Director Heritage of the Culture Tourism and Antiquities Department, told Dawn on Wednesday that they visited the temple soon after hearing about the discovery of so many idols and artifacts and it was obvious that neither the temple is as old as 1,500 years, nor the artifacts. “The idols and artifacts are not older than 200 or 250 years. And the temple building is around 150 years old,” he said.

Asked how the idols were older than the temple, he said they were brought there from elsewhere. “I have informed the temple trustee too that his estimates of the age of the temple and these excavated artifacts were quite off reality. There couldn’t have been a temple in this place as the area around Soldier Bazaar where it is situated was developed during the British era,” he said.

“Even Karachi isn’t 1,500 years old! The first British ship docked here in 1725. Before that this was just a coastal area with wild plantation and it only saw development in the second half of the 19th century,” he said. “The oldest buildings in Karachi are also around 150 years old so there is no chance of the temple being 15 centuries old.”

Meanwhile, the temple’s trustee Shri Ram Nath Maharaj said that preparations for their upcoming festivals were in full swing at the temple. “There will be the Sharad, in which we send blessings to our departed loved ones, starting in 10 to 12 days followed by the 10 days of Navaratri and we feel so blessed to have unearthed these old idols for our festivals,” he said.

He also said that they were paid a visit by the museum officials earlier. “They have assured us that the idols will not be removed from the mandir, and that they will clean them up in time for our religious festivals without moving them,” he said.

Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2019