Muslim family looks after 500-year-old Shiva Temple in Guwahati

Guwahati, March 4, 2019:

As the nation celebrates the night of Lord Shiva, the ‘destroyer of evil’ by partaking in ancient rituals, chanting shlokas and participating in spiritual activities yoga and meditation, the Muslim community often feels left out. But a Muslim family in Guwahati feels as close to Lord Shiva on his day as any Hindu one.

Matibur Rahman, a resident of Guwahati, belongs to a family that looks after a 500-year-old Shiva temple situated in Rangamahal village, Guwahati. “It is a 500-year-old temple, our family looks after the temple. People from both the religions –Hindu and Muslim – come here to offer prayers”, says Rahman.

Rahman’s extreme love for his work, that is, taking care of the temple, in such trying and testing times when communal tensions across the world are at an all-time high and a wedge continues to divide Hindu and Muslim communities, shows that hatred can be overcome. All it takes is a bit of humanity sprinkled with a touch of secularism. It also shows that people from across the religious spectrum can come together to preserve the customs and traditions on which the pillars of our civilization stand.