A Muslim man from Malappuram in the northern part of Kerala is in the news for having done his part towards promoting religious harmony in the state by gifting a pond and adjacent land to a centuries old, neighboring Shiva temple.
Nambiarthodi Ali, from Kaalikavu in Malappuram was approached by the temple committee of Kundada Maha Shiva Kshetram in Poroor Panchayat as they wanted to purchase a piece of his rubber estate – a pond and nearby land adjacent to the temple.
However, Ali surprised them all by refusing to take money for the land and instead gifting it absolutely free of cost to the temple.
“The temple has not had a pond for years, making it difficult for devotees to perform their ablutions before visiting the sanctum. It is mandatory for temples to have water bodies in their premises for devotees to take a dip. The temple committee members approached me. I gave the land to them and didn’t ask for money as it is for the temple and the people,” Ali (45) told TNM.
Emphasising that communal divisions were irrelevant in their society in the Malappuram, Ali added “When I told the Usthad in my mosque that I am donating land to the temple, he said it is the best thing one can do. Even my family was very supportive of the idea. We believe that we are human beings first, and our religion comes later. Allah’s land or Krishna’s land..it is all the same to me.”
The temple stands in a 45 cent piece of land and the portion that has been gifted is a little less than 4 cents.
“I asked the temple authorities to measure and take how much ever land they need so that we can get it registered,” Ali added.
Further, he has also allowed the temple authorities to use the pathway to the pond which lies in his compound.
Ali was felicitated by the committee in the temple premises as part of the Sivaratri celebrations festivities in the temple on Tuesday.
Speaking to TNM, Sivasankaran, a committee member of the temple said, “We hadn’t decided on a price but I think the value would be around 25,000 Rs per cent in that area. However, he didn’t charge us even one penny and gave it all for the welfare of the temple.”