Mallya’s door to good luck

[1]

Beleagured liquor baron Vijay Mallya donated a carved door, dipped in nearly 3 kgs of gold and costing Rs 80 lakhs, to the “Nadu Mantap,” of the temple on Thursday as part of his “seve” to the Kukke Shri Subrahmanya Swamy deity. Temple authorities said this is the second such donation by Mallya to the temple, after he gifted a similar gold door to the sanctum sanctorum of the temple 12 years ago.

After the recent crisis to hit Kingfisher, he had visited his ancestral village Bantwal in Dakshina Kannada district, paying obeisance at temples like Kukke and Kollur. Arriving in Kukke by road at around 5.30 pm, Mallya was welcomed by temple authorities, even garlanded by the temple elephant. The door, designed by Sudhakar Dongre of Karkala, with carvings of a Naga and trailing leaves, was handed over to the priests after Mallya made his Sankalpam, a vow. Mallya said this was a “small donation,” and that he had “enormous respect for the temples and deities of Dakshin Kannada.

According to the temple authorities, this is the second such donation by Mr Mallya to the temple. About 12 years ago, he had donated a gold-plated door to the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. Mr Mallya’s family hails from Bantwal in Dakshina Kannada district. After the recent crisis in his business, he had visited his ancestral village and temples related to the family deity and also popular temples like Kukke and Kollur.

Temple sources said that during his last visit, Mr Mallya had offered to donate a gold-plated door to the ‘Nadu Mantapa’, outside the sanctum sanctorum. Four months later, Mr Mallya was in Kukke Subrahmanya on Thursday to donate the door. Mr Mallya, who flew to Mangalore, travelled to Kukke Subrahmanya by road.

On reaching the temple at around 5.30 pm, Mr Mallya was welcomed by temple authorities. He was garlanded by the temple elephant. After having a look at the beautifully carved gold-plated door, he performed ‘Sankalpam’ and handed over the door to the temple authorities.

Speaking to reporters later, Mr Mallya said he had made this ‘small donation’ to Lord Subrahmanya Swamy. “I have respect for the religious places in Dakshina Kannada district. During my visits to the region, I pay visit to this temple. I am confident that the crisis will be solved in the coming days”, Mr Mallya said. A total of 2.4 kg of gold has been used for the door which has intricate inlay work done by Sudhakar Dongre of Karkala. According to the temple authorities, the cost of this door is around `80 lakh. On Thursday, Mallya is also said to have promised to donate a golden ‘Patti’ for the outer door of the temple. He was accompanied by Pinky Lalwani, Nafisa and Major Rajesh.