HYDERABAD: An enterprising NRI doctor from East Godavari district has come up with a novel idea of an all purpose and inclusive housing colony for members of the Brahmin community near Hyderabad.
Resurrecting the traditional and conservationist ambience of the Agraharam from the Brahmin predominant East Godavari district, the colony will be spread over 1,200 acres on the city’s outskirts.
Branded Dhanwatari Agraharam, the proposed site is located 90km from Hyderabad on the Nagpur highway. All its 1,000 members are, well, Brahmins bound by the sale agreement with the promoters.
This includes observing the appropriate rituals and cultural ethos while they live in the independent homes being built for them. Smoking, consumption of alcohol and meat are forbidden in the colony.
The members should also not rear cats and dogs as these animals, true to their nature, hunt for flesh around the colonies. Only rearing of milch cows is permitted. The project is the brainchild of the Dhanwantri Foundation International promoted by Dr P Kamalakara Sarma.
The colony has a temple, community hall especially designed for rituals like shradh (annual death anniversaries), seasonal worships and Yagnas.
In addition, there is a veda pathashala and special arrangements for rituals like sandhya vandanams. Separate fertile land ensures growth of puja materials like flowers, leaves and special grass weeds used in rituals.
Attempts of some BJP leaders to get a plot were foiled as they were not Brahmins. The sale process was preceded by careful scrutiny of the applicants, their antecedents and religious practices.
The list includes senior civil service officials who, Sarma says, “had faith in their legacy”. The doctor is a good businessman and sells only 1,000 square-foot plots costing around Rs4 lakh.
The Dhanwantri foundation has taken up similar initiatives at many locations in Andhra Pradesh. Its second venture over 180 acres is emerging near Jadcherla in Mahabubnagar district, 100km south west of Hyderabad.
