Abu Dhabi's Hindu temple: Indian diaspora celebrates cultural diversity

Members of the Indian diaspora in the UAE dressed in traditional attires on Wednesday expressed joy in attending the inauguration of the first Hindu stone temple in Abu Dhabi which has addressed their longpending wishDancing their way to the entry of the temple Moksha Rangnekar dressed up in a traditional Maharashtrian saree led the group of people from her stateOur Ganpati now has a temple here It is like an early ganpati mahotsav celebration for us this year We have been waiting for this for years Rangnekar who has been living in the UAE for 32 years told PTIThe temple is even more special for members of the Oriya community as it is the first temple in the UAE to have a Jagannath idolThere are temples in other parts of the UAE but there is no Jagannath idol there It is a magical moment for us said Kartik Singh who works for an oil and gas company hereWomen from Bengali families performed dhuni nach at the entry of the temple premisesThis is performed when we welcome Ma Durga and today we are welcoming our gods to the land we call home now Stupta Das an engineer told PTIChildren from Tamil Nadu dressed in traditional mundu were also seenBarki Gayatri Prakash from Bengaluru who used to live in the UAE till 2022 has come from India especially to attend the inaugurationI had even laid a brick when the construction was going on though I have moved back to India now but I didnt want to miss the occasion I used to miss going to a temple when I was here she told PTIThe first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi is set to be inaugurated later Wednesday While the consecration ceremony for the idols began in the morning Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lead a dedication ceremonyThe temple has been built by the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha on a 27acre site in Abu Mureikhah near Al Rahba off the DubaiAbu Dhabi Sheikh Zayed Highway at a cost of around Rs 700 croreThe evening launch ceremony and Mandir dedication assembly will take place from 6 pm in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi This occasion is bringing the message of harmony love and tolerance to the entire world Millions of Indians are excited for this glorious moment a temple spokesperson saidWhen PM Modi visited here in 2015 and 2018 and officially announced this temple there was a wave of enthusiasm among about 33 lakh Indians It is noteworthy here that the generous donation of land for the temple was made by the rulers of the UAE the spokesperson addedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever