The Beautiful Lokeshwar Temple
Located in a hidden place below the Bakloh 1/4 Bazaar, lies a beautiful temple of Lord Vishnu called The Lokeshwar Temple. May it be located at a hidden place, but it lies very close to the heart of each and every Baklohite. Any Baklohite prefers to show his/her guests this place of Bakloh compulsorily. It is a holy, sacred place well maintained by people of Bakloh and the Gorkha Sabha.
Shri Lokeshwar temple is the temple of Lord Vishnu and Goddess Laxmi. The building of the temple also houses temples of Lord Shiva and Lord Hanuman.
Architecture of the Temple
The Lokeshwar temple is unique in many ways, but the most fascinating portion of the temple is its three tier roof made in Pagoda architectural style of Nepal. The style gets its resemblance with the Himalayan Fir tree and is said to be the oldest architectural style of Asia. The whole temple is made up of Stones that were extracted out locally.
History of Lokeshwar Temple.
The Lokeshwar Temple is one of the oldest temple of the whole region. As per the inscription posted on the walls of the temple and stories told by old veterans of Bakloh, the temple was erected by 4th PWO Gurkha Rifles on Tuesday the 5th of November,1946. The temple was opened for public on 18th February, 1947. During the Glorious days of this temple, it had a great aura. The temple was affixed with a lot of bells which sounded by their own whenever a gust of wind used to pass through the temple. And this happened frequently during the day time as well as at Night. It had a big bell erected on the right side of temple. The temple used to be a beautiful piece of architectural brilliance. Col J.N.Mackay, Lt. Col J.W.A.Lowis and S.M Agam Gurung are a few of those army personal of 4 G.R. who are associated with the planning and execution of building the Temple. It was made with the efforts of prisoners of war of world war II and has been provided a status of memoirs of those who died, or got wounded or participated in the world war II (1939-45).
The Annual Gathering
A lot of sacred celebrations do keep happening here at the Lokeshwar temple. The temple has been a witness of many small marriages. Once the Temple premises use to witness 3 annual gatherings in a year. The days celebrated here were Baisakhi, Maha-Shivratri and the 13th June. But with time the celebrations have got reduced to just one. At present the main celebration happens here on the month of June. On 13th or 14th of June every year (As per the Hindu dates) the whole Bakloh gathers here to celebrate the fair and Bhandara. The occasion is very joyful and everyone enjoys his/her presence on the occasion. A small wrestling competition is also organized.
Gorkha Sabha and Lokeshwar Temple.
Being a regimental property, the Lokeshwar Temple is maintained by Gorkha Sabha. Once the temple was on the verge of extinction. It was maintained by annual contributions by battalions of the Gorkha Regiment. Over the years, its upkeep was neglected. It lost its patrons because of its relative remoteness as well as dis interest shown by the officers. But with the sincere efforts of Gorkha Sabha, it has been able to get back its old structure. The source of water flowing below the temple has been given direction and it seems that now everything is okay. The Lokeshwar Temple is standing tall and showing us the legacy of the rich past of Bakloh. The surroundings of the temple is soothingly cool and calm.
Location
The Temple is at a beautiful location, away from any kind of crowd. It is located in the Kakira- Ghatasani Road. You can reach the temple on foot from Bakloh bazaar too. It is in the base of 1/4 bazaar of Bakloh. From Bakloh Bazaar, the temple is 500 m on foot. But if someone has to reach here by car or two wheeler then either he will have to reach Ghatasani then to proceed the way to Kakira or from Kakira to Ghatasani. from Ghatasani as well as Kakira the temple is less than 1 km away.
Virtual Tour
You can enjoy cool and stress free few hours of a day at this place. The place is quite calm with one shop of eatables in the periphery. Let us have a virtual tour of the Temple. For a better view of the place your visit to Bakloh is a must.