As we approached the temple, groups of village boys surrounded the temple boundary to have a look at us, as they were not used to seeing persons visiting the temple with a digital camera. It was just a local temple for them, seldom visited by outsiders and of no special interest. The onlookers gave a puzzled look as we started taking photographs of the ancient structure. They disappeared after some time.

As we entered the premises enclosed within a boundary wall, several stone pillars were seen lying in the garden. The garden was full of bushes and grass which had outgrown following the monsoons. As we looked around, some statues could be seen peeping out of the herbs. To photograph these one had to make a lot of effort, and actually had to uproot some herbs to expose the precious and timeless creations crafted by humans in remote ancient times. The sculptors in that age would not have imagined that their works of art would one day lie mutilated and neglected in this state.

It was on the 3rd December, 1811 that Buchanan had visited the temple town of Koch. He mentions :-

“Koch is a very large village, mostly tiled as indeed is the case with a great many houses on the way. A few are neat, being smooth and painted, and a very little pains might make such houses very pretty, but in general they are very rough and slovenly. From entering the town I went about half a mile north to an old temple of Siva, which is a little beyond the town. The north end of the town stands on some large heaps of bricks and stones, usually said to be remains of the Kol. Beyond these heaps and a mud fort recently gone to ruin, is a tank, and on the west side of this is a large heap of bricks and granite, among which are some pillars of a curious structure but not exceeding four feet in length.

To be continued...