Telangana's Rudreswara Temple (also known as the Ramappa Temple) has been given a world heritage site tag by the UNESCO. The decision was taken at the 44th session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO on Sunday (25th July). Ramappa temple, a 13th century engineering marvel named after its architect - Ramappa, was proposed by the Indian government as its only nomination for the UNESCO World Heritage site tag for the year 2019.

Announcing the decision, the UNESCO said: "Just inscribed as World Heritage Site: Kakatiya Rudeshwara (Ramappa) Temple, Telengana in India. Bravo!" Reacting to the tweet by the UNESCO, the Prime Minister said: "Excellent! Congratulations to everyone, specially the people of Telangana. The iconic Ramappa Temple showcases the outstanding craftsmanship of great Kakatiya dynasty. I would urge you all to visit this majestic Temple complex and get a first-hand experience of it’s grandness."

Here's a brief description of the Ramappa Temple

The Ministry of Culture has put out a brief description of the temple. According to the ministry, the Rudreswara temple was constructed in 1213 AD during the reign of the Kakatiya Empire by Recharla Rudra, a general of Kakatiya king Ganapati Deva. The presiding deity here is Ramalingeswara Swamy. It is also known as the Ramappa temple, after the sculptor who executed the work in the temple for 40 years.

The temple complexes of Kakatiyas have a distinct style, technology and decoration exhibiting the influence of the Kakatiyan sculptor. The Ramappa Temple is a manifestation of this and often stands as a testimonial to the Kakatiyan creative genius.

The Ramappa temple stands on a 6 feet high star-shaped platform with walls, pillars and ceilings adorned with intricate carvings that attest to the unique skill of the Kakatiyan sculptors.

The sculptural art and decoration specific to the time and Kakatiyan Empire have an outstanding universal value. The distinct style of Kakatiyas for the gateways to temple complexes, unique only to this region confirm the highly evolved proportions of aesthetics in temple and town gateways in South India.

European merchants and travelers were mesmerized by the beauty of the temple and one such traveler had remarked that the temple was the "brightest star in the galaxy of medieval temples of the Deccan", according to the Ministry of Culture.

Minister of Culture credits PM Modi for world heritage tag to Ramappa

Union Minister of Culture, Tourism G Kishan Reddy informed that due to Covid, the meeting of the World Heritage Committee could not be conducted in 2020 and the nominations for 2020 and those for 2021 were discussed in a series of online meetings that were currently underway. The discussion on Ramappa Temple took place on Sunday, the 25th July 2021.

The minister further stated that there were 21 Members in the World Heritage Committee with China currently as the Chair of the Committee and credited the the success to the goodwill that PM Narendra Modi has built with UNESCO member countries during his tenure.

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