January 1998

TEMPLES

Canada's Chariot Maker

Sri Lankan temple craft crosses the Pacific

Sthapati Saravanamuthu Jeyaraja is just one of 100,000 Sri Lankan Tamils settled in Ontario, Canada, but he is earning distinction. While living in Sri Lanka, his father, Saravanamuthu Sthapati, and his uncle, Thambithurai Sthapati, taught him the ancient carpenter's art of building traditional temple chariots, and he became a respected "ordained" craftsman. He brought his skills with him to Ontario, where he has crafted temple doors and large and small chariots. For this type of ornate, technical and traditional woodworking, Hindu temples in the US and Canada now have an eager alternative to importing sthapatis from India. Canada's Jeyaraja is ready, willing and obviously able.

SARAVANAS JEYARAJA STHAPATHY, 1471 GLEN RUTLEY CIRCLE, MISSISSUAGA, ONTARIO, CANADA