The Sree Ayyappan temple at Jalahalli is to have a gold-coated dwajasthambam -- the main pillar outside the entrance -- by mid-April, the first of its kind in any Ayyappa temple outside Kerala. But more significantly, the sacred task of creating the `golden dwajasthambam' has been entrusted to M S A Thajuddin of Palani. This was after the temple trustees scoured the whole of Kerala in search of a craftsman who could undertake the sacred task.

Thajuddin, who hails from a family that has been gold-plating temple pillars for generations, has kept the focus on the sacred, forgetting any religious differences between him and the nature of his work.

When it comes to following temple rituals associated with suchtasks, there is no one as rigid as the Thajuddin family. ``Ever since work started here, we have not taken any non-vegetarian food,'' says Thajuddin. ``Although we did celebrate Bakrid recently, we did not eat any meat.''

How much of a sacrifice is it to serve an alien God? ``It's not a sacrifice,'' says Ashraf Ali, one of the co-workers. ``If we did not have the blessings of God, we would never be able to beat the gold we have, into such fine films.''

Twenty-four carat gold biscuits are flattened into thin one-inch-wide strips. This is later cut into small squares, kept between camel hide and beaten approximately 2,500 times, before they become thin 5-micron-thick gold films.

``Since the gold is pure, the chances of it getting torn are high. This is the reason why we use the camel hide, which absorbs all the heat,'' says V S Nair, secretary of the Executive Committee. ``It needs a lot of dedication and hard work and of course, the blessings of God,'' he says.

Thajuddin has been personally supervisingthe work since February 5 and is adopting a new gold plating technique this time.

``A concrete pillar 41 feet high has already been erected and on this, bronze castings will be placed. Mercury would then be applied on the castings and only then, would the gold foils be stuck. The mercury acts more or less like a binding agent which sticks the gold to the cast,'' he says.

``Approximately 10 layers of gold will be stuck before the final polishing is done,'' says Allath, another office-bearer.

Thajuddin has done similar gold-plating work in Thiruvambadi, Guruvayoor, Palani, Rameshwarama and at Mahalingapuram in Chennai.

``Even in Guruvayoor where only Hindus are allowed into the temple, my father and I were asked to work on the gopurams there. They never discriminated against us. On the contrary, they extended all support to help us with this work,'' says Thajuddin. ``I've been to Sabarimala thrice.''

Asked why they employed a Muslim to build the dwajasthambam, V S Nair says: ``Thistemple has always been secular. People of all religious denominations come here. After all, even Lord Ayyappa's closest friend was Vavarsawmi, a Muslim. So why can't a Muslim build a sthamba for His glory?''

Why not, indeed.