TROY, MICHIGAN, USA, May 9, 2006: Dhinesh Raj, 6, clasped his hands in prayer before placing his mom’s check in the offering box. Moments later, he was scampering around the spacious prayer room at the Bharatiya Hindu Temple and Cultural Center, like any other precocious 6-year-old. But his mom couldn’t scold too sternly, because it was his birthday. “We try to come to the temple on special occasions, like his birthday, as well as during all the other events,” said Sheila Raj. Raj represents a growing number of Hindus and those interested in the religion who pack the temple to overflowing on festival days. That’s a big reason why the temple will more than double its size to 65,000 square feet with a $9 million expansion. Temple leaders say they will finance the expansion with existing funds, a loan and donations. Work will begin in October and is expected to be finished in 2009. From its humble beginnings with fewer than 100 people in 1981, the temple must now accommodate the more than 1,000 who come to pray, attend services or cultural events and take Sanskrit language or classical dance and music classes throughout the week. The expanded temple, on Adams Road between Square Lake and South, will more accurately resemble the temples throughout India. It will feature among other sculptures three domed shikars. These steeple-like domes will be placed above three Deities.
A daily summary of world news for Hindus and non-Hindus alike