Heritage-themed stone wall gate for Udvada fire temple

The fire temple in Udvada that is undergoing renovation

As part of the ongoing renovation of the Atash Behram at Udvada, the entrance gate to the fire temple was demolished last week and this development has created a buzz on WhatsApp groups, over the past couple of days. While members of the Parsi community have voiced their concerns over the fire temple trust 'allowing' the demolition of the gate, Udvada high priest Khurshed Dastur said that the old gate will be replaced with a heritage-themed wall gate as part of the larger renovation.

The Atash Behram at Udvada is one of the oldest fire temples in India and has been undergoing renovation work for the past two years. Dastur said that during the renovation work taken up around 10 years ago, the main gate was made out of concrete, which didn't match the original look of the temple. "We are trying to restore its heritage look and taking inputs from a Persian architect. The new gate will be made from stone that matches what was used to build the temple," said Dastur. He added that the entire restoration process is being documented and the information will be available to members of the community once the restoration work is complete.

Dastur said that the stone is being sourced from Ahmedabad and the new gate should be ready by the end of November. The gate will be constructed at two sites and then assembled at the temple. He added that the idea is to preserve the fire temple for another 100 years based on old pictures of it. In order to bring the original look back, the restoration work includes removing the paint from the stones, which are part of the fire temple.

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