Ayodhya Ram temple is magnificent, but pray, where have all our small temples gone?

by Arun Ram in Chennai Talkies , India , TOI The Ram temple that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate on January 22 is a magnificent structure. The three-storey 57,000sqft temple on 2.7 acres built in the nagara style stands at 161ft on 132 columns. Six smaller temples complete the complex that has 12 gates. I am not a regular temple-goer, but I look forward to visiting the Ayodhya temple as much for its religious grandeur as for its political history. But if I have to visit a temple for some inner peace, I would go to a quiet village temple. I believe we don’t need temples to be spiritual (though many get a spiritual boost in these environs). We build temples for broadly two reasons. One, for a sense of solace and security (the quaint ones in villages). Two, to make a statement (Raja Raja Chola got the awe-inspiring Big Temple built to proclaim his might, his son Rajendra Chola had the Gangaikondacholapuram temple done to show his love for ar...