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When God takes something away from us, Hindus believe, he always
gives us something in return.
So when the Hindu Temple of Hampton Roads burned down nearly three
years ago, its congregation was distraught. But it was also
patient.
Community members soon realized that the flames that razed their
religious home gave them the opportunity to build a new temple on
its ashes.
The Hindu community has been rewarded for its members' patience and
their industry. They have completed their new temple at last.
"When the fire destroyed the temple, it was really tragic," said
Ram C. Dahiya, chairman of the temple's board of trustees. "But
once something tragic happens, there's nothing you can do about it.
All you can try to do is make something better from it ... It has
brought the community together"
The fire's intense heat destroyed all of the temple's marble
deities. The charred stone images found among the rubble crumbled
into sand at the touch of a hand, Ashok Patel, temple president,
said.
The community has ordered new, hand-carved marble deities from
India to replace them. They will be installed during a special
ceremony June 14, at the culmination of a week-long celebration
marking the temple's grand opening.
For temple members like Bharti Desai, the re-opening cannot come
too soon. "It already looks like a second home to me," Desai said.
The temple is as much a community center as a place of worship,
she said.
And the new complex will be able to hold more community events. It
measures 24,000 square feet, 50 percent larger than the first
temple, Dahiya said.
Built on 10 acres off Dominion Boulevard, the temple is secluded by
woods and overlooks a marsh and small creek. It is the perfect
place to meditate and to pray, Dahiya said.
"It's so peaceful; I just love it," he said.
For nearly three years, the 600 families of the region's Indian
community have been dispersed, Dahiya said. Hindus have met in
each other's homes to pray. They have rented meeting rooms and
banquet halls for special events. But they have lacked a central
meeting place to hold family activities and holy day celebrations.
The temple had been the only place in Hampton Roads where children
could learn classical Indian music and dances.
After the fire, the closest Hindu temples were in Richmond and
Raleigh.
A Hindu architect designed the temple, whose main entrance faces
east toward the rising sun. Its bright orange roof, for now, is
flat. The towering domes characteristic of Hindu architecture will
be built only after the community has raised more money - probably
not for two or three years, Patel said.
The new temple has been built entirely of steel and concrete strong
enough to support six tall domes and fire-resistant to avoid future
tragedies, he said. The original temple was built largely of wood.
When the fire spread to the wooden truss roof, the entire building
became engulfed and the roof collapsed.
The temple's elderly priest and his wife, who were asleep in their
apartment inside, narrowly escaped after rescuers broke in through
their windows.
The temple's congregation paid for the $1.5 million project through
private fund-raising, as well as insurance money from the fire
Dahiya said. Fire inspectors found the fire was caused by
electrical malfunctions.
The Hindu community already owned the land, but still owes $450,000
on the construction of the $1.5 million temple complex, Dahiya
said.
For many families of Indian descent, going to temple was as much a
social gathering as a religious experience, said Ram Dahiya's wife,
Chandra Dahiya. Indian immigrants are spread throughout Hampton
Roads. The temple, which attracted families from Williamsburg to
North Carolina, drew them together.
"We have missed it the whole time," Chandra Dahiya said. "It was a
nice social and meeting place. You saw the same people every
week."
The temple's new priest, Ravindra Nagar, will arrive from India in
time for the grand opening. The temple's former priest has
retired, but will attend the festivities.
Chandra Dahiya also hopes the temple will enable others to learn
about Hinduism and Indian culture.
"We'd really like to participate in the community," Chandra Dahiya
said.
"We would like to invite our friends in, and expose people to the
culture."
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