ARIZONA, U.S.A., August 24, 2007: Longing for a place to worship God in a traditional Hindu way, South Indian Hindus in Arizona will soon have their dream come true. For more than five years the congregation has been worshipping in a double-wide trailer. The news release says that come next September they will have a new home, a $1.5 million temple with an 8,000 square-foot hall housing shrines to deities. Mouli Subramanian, the vice president of fundraising and marketing chair for the temple, says, “Every person can get satisfaction in praying to the Supreme Being in a place where he was taken during his childhood to worship. He feels closer to home and doesn’t feel this place as a foreign country. The Indians try to honor what their ancestors have done and realize the value of what our ancestors tried to build in the form of a temple. This will be a true sanctuary.” Aravind Thayaparan, president of construction of the temple, adds that the temple will have more space to accommodate the large number of Hindus and that the trailer sees about 50 to 60 people every weekend but on special festivals as many as 1,500 to 1,600 people come to worship.
“The new temple will pay homage to South Indian architectural styles, down to the height of the towers and carvings on concrete pillars. The first phase of the project includes construction of the building, which will include four to six towers, the tallest reaching 55 feet. For the second phase, artisans from India are expected to work and live in Arizona for two to three years as they hand-carve and paint the concrete temple. Accenting, carving and adding metal work to the temple is estimated to cost an additional $400,000,” the article further explains.