Centre-spot

Here's another middle-of-the-road temple, just a few days after this one. There is one similarity: both were threatened by the road widening that became necessary and both survived it. But the differences are many, and stark.

For starters, the Madhya Kailas temple is of recent origin, maybe about 30 years or so old. The unique half-Ganesha and half-Anjaneya idol in this temple was installed after its founder had a dream of the Aadhi Amdhaprabhu, which is how that representation is termed. It is supposedly the only temple with this deity.

So why Kailas? Isn't that Siva's abode? So why isn't Siva the main deity here? Does Venkata Ananda Vinayakar stay at Kailas? There are so many questions, including what is so 'Madhya' (central) about this place. It is at the northern end of Rajiv Gandhi Salai (earlier known as Old Mahabalipuram Road). The only thing central about it is its positioning in the middle of the road, which is but a very recent occurrence!