Sri Krishnan Temple (9 July 2006)
Sri Krishnan Temple (GPS: 1.30052, 103.85263) at 152
Waterloo Street is a Hindu temple catering to the needs of the Indians living in the neighbourhood bounded by
Bras Basah Road,
Victoria Street and
Albert Street. It was started in 1870 by Hanuman Beem Singh, as a shrine to Krishna under a banyan tree in Waterloo Street. When Beem Singh was too old to look after the temple, he passed it to his son Humna Somapah.
Joognee Ammal V. Pakirisamy took over the management in 1904 and built a main shrine there. A Maha Kumbabishegam, or consecration ceremony, was held in 1933. In 1935, she sought the assistance of V. Pakirisamy Pillai to manage the Temple. V Pakirisamy Pillai was an Indian community leader and philanthropist. His father Koona Vayloo Pillai was a rich Tamil pioneer who died in 1931.
Pakirisamy Pillai built the Hall and the walls of the Temple and dedicated them to the memory of his mother Alamayloo Ammal. He devoted much time to the Indian community and served as chairman of four main Hindu temple committees of management. He even entered politics and served as a city councillor from the late 1940s to the early 1950s.
In 1959, the Mandapam - room for meditating and praying - was built in front of the shrine. When Pillai died at the age of 89 in May 1984, his son P. Sivaraman took over the management and undertook a major renovation of the Temple in 1989.
Getting there
The nearest MRT Station to the Sri Krishnan Temple is the
Bugis MRT Station (EW12).