Ajitha Karthikeyan/TNN
 
Chennai, Dec 15: Thirty three-year-old Rajaram of Pappireddipatti village in Dharmapuri district was the proud owner of a cycle rental shop until a few months ago, but he sold it off and is now eking out a meagre livelihood by repairing bicycles -- it's a price he pays willingly for his patriotism.

In a land where politicians and film actors are worshipped as demi-gods and idolised, this youth belonging to the economically weaker section has built a temple for Mother India', and to meet the expenditure, he has sold the main means for his livelihood.

Rajaram's temple dedicated to the nation was opened on Gandhi Jayanti this year, with three children from Hindu, Islamic and Christian faiths doing the honours.

The man, a science graduate, got the inspiration to build the temple in 2001 when he heard about the efforts of Subramaniya Siva, a freedom fighter and a close associate of revolutionary poet Subramania Bharathi, who attempted to build one dedicated to Bharat Mata in the 1920s.

"I learnt that Subramaniya Siva, after he was afflicted by leprosy and released from jail during the freedom struggle, came and settled in Pallurpet village in the district and laid the foundation stone to build a temple for Bharat Mata in 1923. He had even got an idol of Bharat Mata ready, but unfortunately, death intervened in 1925 to stop the project. It was Siva's vision to construct such temples in all villages to drive home the importance of communal harmony," he said.

Though Rajaram had attempted to set up a Bharat Mata Trust back in 2001, his family circumstances did not allow him to pursue his objective then. As the years passed by, his responsibilities grew, but in no way did his determination to construct the temple weaken.

At last, he laid the foundation stone in September 2007, and he managed to do it without donations. "On knowing about my initiative, aid came in through my friends in the form of construction material like cement, sand and bricks. I also had to spend about Rs 30,000, for which I sold off my moped and seven bicycles," he said.

A nearly four-foot idol of Bharat Mata, with the Indian map in the backdrop, adorns the sanctum sanctorum of his temple. For its inauguration, Rajaram had to face a hurdle from unexpected quarters though. "I wanted to get the temple inaugurated by religious leaders from Hinduism, Christianity and Islam to stress communal harmony. But to my dismay, local religious leaders did not respond positively and gave one reason or the other to avoid the inauguration," he rued.

It was then that he thought of asking children from different faiths inaugurate it. "I am happy that the temple was inaugurated by children. I just want to spread a message that at least the future generation should strive to build a religionless society," the youth said.