Construction is expected to begin by month’s end on the long-planned, first-ever, estimated $1.2 million Hindu temple at 7930 W. Goeller Road in Columbus.
The Hindu Society of Southern Indiana held a groundbreaking ceremony Aug. 3, 2019, before a gathering of more than 1,000 people, including Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop and other local leaders.
Local Hindu leaders have dreamed of such a facility for more than 25 years, organizers said at the groundbreaking. Others have said some talked of such when they first came to Columbus as far back as the 1970s.
Specific planning began in about 2010 for what is known as the Sri Ganesh Mandir. The temple is meant to initially accommodate about 400 people, with ample room for expansion. Donations for the cause are being accepted at hssicolumbus.org.
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The 8,000-square-foot structure, which will be on a 2-acre site, is expected to be completed in about six months, according to Rajkumar Subramanian, the Hindu society’s communications coordinator. The work will represent phase one of a long-term, three-phase effort, Hindu leaders have said.
“We have been working a lot in the past year just getting all the plans ready,” Subramanian said, referring to financial support and contractors’ approvals.
Currently, the local Hindu community numbers about 700 to 800 families. With summer visitors, the number of worshipers swells to about 2,000 people, organizers have said.
Nearby temples are in Indianapolis and Louisville, Kentucky, but local organizers expect this worship building to attract Hindus from surrounding areas such as Bloomington and Seymour.
Subramanian said organizers are not concerned about the local Hindu population being substantially affected by Cummins’ recent announcement that as much as one-third of its local workforce could become remote employees, meaning that they could more easily live in areas beyond Bartholomew County.
“I’ve been here for 17 years, and seen the Hindu population continue to grow steadily,” he said. “I think a stable number (of Hindus) will continue to be here.”
For now, the local body of believers meets for services and activities in two places: in a house accommodating 50 people on Goeller Road across from the Unitarian building and in the Unitarian building itself.
The project, located next door to the Unitarian building, will be just one element of what will become known as the Columbus Interfaith Campus, according to the Rev. Nic Cable, the local Unitarian minister and executive director of the campus. That campus will include the Unitarian building and body of believers.
“A Hindu temple will allow Hindus in the greater Columbus area to feel like they have a place for belonging and adhering to their religious principles,” Cable said. “But it will also further facilitate the bridge building even amid our differences in the years to come.
“We sometimes do an OK job here at understanding cultural diversity, and maybe diversity among nationalities because of the international companies here. But we don’t always have necessary conversations around our faith similarities and differences.”
Cable added that the interfaith campus eventually can serve as a model for the Midwest.
Ideally, the temple is meant to serve as both a spiritual and cultural center, including everything from sacred services for followers to educational events on Indian culture for the public.
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Organizers for the Hindu Society of Southern Indiana’s new estimated $1.2 million temple in Columbus have said that financial supporters include far more than local Hindus.
To donate to the cause: hssicolumbus.org
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