Sri Krishna Bagawan Alagam Temple Taman Pekaka, Sungai Dua, Penang
The Sri Krishna Bagawan Alayam Temple in Taman Pekaka, Sungai Dua, is a recently expanded Hindu temple. Penang Island has undertaken such rapid development that many of the Indian temples that used to support the rural needs of the early settlers have to reinvent themselves for a totally different, urban environment.
One such temple is the Sri Krishna Bagawan Alayam, at Taman Pekaka, Gelugor, Penang. When the temple was founded, in the early 20th century, Taman Pekaka has not yet existed. The first temple was constructed in an Indian settlement around Jalan Sungai Dua Besar, Lorong Sungai Dua and Batu Uban. It was called Sri Ramar Madam-Math and was dedicated to the Hindu deity Krishna. It served as the focal point for the surrounding Tamil community.
Around the year 1932, the temple was asked by the government to shift when its original site, where the present USM Guard post in Jalan Sungai Dua is located, had to be vacated to facilitate the construction of the Minden Army Barrack. The temple was provided with financial and building material. A generous Chinese landlord leased out a plot of land for the building of the temple.
On 30 July 1965, the temple was registered with the Registrar of Societies, Penang, and at the same time, took on a new name, Sri Krishna Bagawan Alayam. An anonymous buyer bought the land on which the temple stood in 1966, and sold it to SPPK (Syarikat Koperasi Pegawai-Pegawai Kerajaan) in 1968. From 1986, the temple committee was in active dialogue with the SPPK to purchase the land and rebuilt the temple. An agreement was reached, and the SPPK completed the construction of a new temple in August 1988. However, it failed to accommodate the growing needs and requirements of the devotees. Hence, in 1991, another agreement was sealed to reconstruct the temple. After a few years of delay, the temple was finally dedicated on 31 October 2004, at 10:10am.
I took the photos of the temple and interviewed the member of the temple committee. However, with my heavy backlog, I only managed to publish this feature close to a year after it was researched. What makes this temple unique, and different from other Hindu temples in Penang - or for that matter elsewhere in Malaysia and even South India - is that the exterior of the temple is painted in single colour. Only below the ceiling do you find a riot of colours apart from the standard beige. According to the temple authority, this facilitates general upkeep and maintenance.
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Sri Krishna Bagawan Alagam Temple Photo Gallery
The Sri Krishna Bagawan Alagam Temple, in Taman Pekaka, Penang.
Another view of the main gopuram.
Close-up view of the sculptures on the gopuram.
Sculpture of the diety Ganesh on the outer shrine.
A silver tower.
Sculptures inside the temple.
Sculptures inside the temple.
The lamp adornment on the ceiling. The temple has a different design for each lamp.
Sculpture of a mystical bird figurine within the temple.
The main shrine, dedicated to Krishna.
The monkey deity, Hanuman.
The trident represents the deity Shiva.
Image of deity in the Sri Krishna temple.
Another image of deity in the Sri Krishna temple.
An artificial banana tree welcomes visitors as the front gate.
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Penang Travel Tips is researched and written by Timothy Tye, universally known as Tim. The text is the copyright of Timothy Tye, and may not be copied for commercial use or re-published in another website without the author's permission. Information provided is in goodwill and is believed to be correct and up-to-date at time of writing. Photographs on this website are the copyright of the author and may not be reused without prior permission. For commercial licensing of photographs, read the licensing terms.
