The Ram Temple in Ayodhya is being built by the Sompura family of temple architects, led by the patriarch Chandrakant Sompura who first visited the historic site where the Babri Masjid once stood over 30 years ago.
Chandrakant Sompura comes from a family background who has a long history of designing temples.
His father Prabhakar Sompura was the architect of the Somnath Temple in Gujarat as well as for the temple in Mathura, Lord Krishna’s mythological birthplace.
Chandrakant Sompura followed his father’s footsteps and has designed 131 temples, along with his son Ashish which includes the Swami Narayan Temple in Gandhinagar, Ambaji Temple in Palanpur and several others.
According to Chandrakant, “It was our family that designed Somnath temple, apart from others like Mathura, Palanpur etc. It is a big thing for us that same family has been designing the Ram temple. It is a matter of pride for us. However, the architecture remains same — the Nagraj style. The style in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh is the same for years — Nagraj style,” he added.
According to him, the project is likely to be completed in the next three years once the work commences.