Christian Man Builds Ganesha Temple in Karnataka’s Udupi, Spends Over ₹2 Crore for Construction

The construction of the temple was completed long back, however, its inauguration was delayed due to the pandemic.

Udupi: In a humanitarian gesture, a 77-year-old Mumbai-based Christian businessman has recently built a temple dedicated to Lord Ganesha in his hometown of Shirva in the Udupi district of Karnataka. The man, Gabriel Fabian Nazareth, has reportedly spent a whopping amount of Rs 2 crore in building the temple and is now making headlines for the same. Gabriel who built the temple on his ancestral land in the memory of his parents also believes that Lord Siddhivinayaka was behind his success.

As per reports, Gabriel moved to Mumbai soon after completing his Class 10 and eventually set up a factory for manufacturing blocks and molds. A News18 report quoted Gabriel saying, “I have built this temple in the memory of my parents Fabias Sebastian Nazareth and Sabeen Nazareth. We used to live here until I moved to Mumbai for work. This is my parents’ place. Our house stood at the same place where the temple stands now. I believe in Ganesha and attribute my success to Him.”

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Speaking to the TOI, Gabriel’s friend Pundalika Marathe said, “Gabriel is thrilled about his wish being fulfilled. He liked a Ganapathi gudi (temple) at the Ammani Ramanna Shetty Memorial hall in Udupi and wanted to have a similar structure. A 36-inch Ganesha idol has been installed and the temple has all facilities to perform religious rituals.”

The temple also has a house built attached for the temple priest too. The construction of the temple was completed long back, however, its inauguration was delayed due to the pandemic. Several rituals such as Pratishtha Mahotsava and Bramhakalshotava were performed last week. Reports suggest that the Ganesh temple’s administration will be managed by a three-member committee of engineers and Vaastu Shilpi Nagesh Hegde and Gabriel’s friends Sathish Shetty and Ratnakar Kukyan, who helped him in the temple’s construction.