Ahmedabad: Temples, ranging from Somnath to Dwarka and Modhera to Khajuraho, evoke a sense of awe among the visitors with towering spires and intricate carvings, winding pradakshina path and embellished rang mandap. Behind all these masterpieces are members of Sompura community of temple architects who enriched the Nagara style of temples over the centuries.But the community is busy building something different now — a new cadre of temple architects. “Out of about 3,500-odd families, less than 1,000 are now engaged in the craft. While we are still building new-age landmarks such as Lord Rama Temple in Ayodhya, the youth after good education chooses other careers,” said Manoj Sompura, architect of 250-plus derasar in Gujarat and Maharashtra and designer of ISKCON temples in Gujarat.Sompura, who is president of six-month-old Sompura Sthapatya Foundation, was speaking on the sidelines of first of its kind event on Sunday in the city where about 350 young members of the community participated. Prominent members of the community spoke about topics ranging from culture and ancient knowledge to use of CAD-CAM in modern architecture.Kiran Sompura, who is currently working on Kashi Vishwanath temple, said that their field is also embracing computer-aided designs like every other. “There surely is a dearth of talent today but on the other side, use of technology has reduced the time required — the work which used to take 15 years four-five decades ago can be done in a year now,” he said.“But it has to affirm to the ancient and time-tested practices ,” said Mumbai-based architect Hitesh Sompura. “The cement-concrete structures cannot be called traditional temples. A few renowned temples have used iron in its construction. In classical sense, they are not temples. The scriptures that the community follows clearly prefers stone-based designs which have stood test of time.”The community made it clear that they consider the craft an intellectual property and have no inclination of sharing it with ‘outsiders’.