VICTORIA, BC CANADA, June 27, 2014 (Times Colonist): Music, movies, dance and the auspicious arrangement of home furniture are featured in this year’s Cultural and Arts Festival of India at the Victoria Hindu Temple. A Mosaic of Music, Movies and Dance is this year’s cultural theme for the festival, running today and Sunday, and the temple wants to honor more than 100 years of Indian film.
Suresh Basrur, temple trustee, said the first Indian movie was created in 1913, a silent picture called Raja Harishchandra. Indian cinema has since exploded into the colossal, colorful art form it is now. Other elements of this year’s festival are palm readings, astrology sessions and the always popular (and hilarious) lessons in how to wear a sari.
The Victoria Hindu Temple in Central Saanich dates back to 1995, when Hindu families in the Victoria area banded together to buy the 100-year-old, no-longer-used St. Mary’s Anglican Church. Now, about 200 Hindu families, nearly 400 people, count themselves as temple members.