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INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, October 4, 2003: After 31 years of hoping and praying, Dr. G.L. Ahuja, a retired physician, will get to see his dream move one step closer to reality Sunday when ground is broken for the first Hindu temple in Indiana. “The dreams are coming to be true,” says Ahuja, a native of India who moved to Indianapolis in 1972. “At last we will have our place of worship. After all these years, I will find a peace within myself.” An estimated 1,200 to 1,500 families make up the local Hindu community. Many are expected for the groundbreaking ceremony taking place Sunday at 3340 German Church Road. The temple is expected to cost US$6 million to $8 million. Ahuja says most of the money has been raised for the first phase of the project — a worship hall and several rooms for education and administration. The main worship area of the temple will take about four years to complete. When it’s finished, it will include architectural styles from eastern, western, northern and southern India. The diversity in the Hindu faith will also be displayed through the 12 Hindu Gods and Goddesses that will be featured in the temple. “We have been talking about this for 30 years,” Ahuja says. “Right now, we have a community center, and we have a makeshift place of worship, but it’s not an authentic place of worship. The temple will serve many generations of Hindu faith in our adopted city and state.”

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