Shirish Paranjape
Christchurch, October 25, 2023
“A dream you dream together is only a dream.
A dream you dream together is reality.”
That was a song written by the late John Lennon, a former Beatle and an observation of a Japanese girl who became homeless at the age of 12 when her home was among the properties destroyed by the great firebombing in 1945.
About three years ago, Sandheep Anant Kumar (popularly known as Sandheep) had a dream.
As he explained later, the setting of the dream was not his bedroom but the maternity room at Christchurch Hospital.
But there was something special about the dream. A strong ‘force’ motivated Sandheep to initiate action to create a Temple for Shri Ganesha, fondly worshipped as Ganapati Bappa.
In the following months, he placed an order for an Idol in India.
Refreshers
The rage of Kannagi puts Christchurch audience in a trance
Lord Ganesha adorns the first South Indian Temple on South Island
Fundraising begins for the largest Hindu Temple on South Island
In August 2022, the idol was installed at Sandheep’s house after an elaborate five-day traditional process. The concept of a privately owned Ganesha temple, the first on the South Island was born.
The Temple quickly gained popularity with the locals.
Sandheep and his wife Pavithra Maduram Ravi realised that the present Temple was not physically big enough to accommodate the number of devotees visiting regularly.
The Second Dream
This led to another dream to construct South Island’s biggest Hindu Temple to enable better accessibility for devotees. Sandheep shared this dream at a public event in March 2023, with details of timelines and budget for the proposed project.
To make this dream come true, a Board of four Trustees, supported by a management team of 14 was created. The team members come from different walks of life and bring unique skill sets to the. The most important concept was that all decisions must be unanimous.
The two key aspects shared in March 2023 were (a) Start of the fundraising campaign and (b)
Procurement of a suitable plot of land
This dream is gradually, but surely, becoming a reality. In October, the team announced that the Temple is proposed to be built on a five-acre land at 14, Hasketts Road, Templeton.
The team is now embarking on active fundraising, including several community events to be organised in Christchurch and other centres.
According to Sandheep, although the idea of this proposed Temple started with the installation of the Deity of Lord Ganesha, the new place of worship will have 29 other Deities in the Complex.
“This will not be a Temple for people from South India but also for Hindus from the rest of India and all over the world, who are participating in this Project,” he said.
Fundraising Projects
The team is inviting the members of the community to become Bhoomi Kartas of the Temple by donating $2001 or more. Plans are also in place to organise 500 X $500 (collection of $500 from at least 500 contributors) fundraisers and less than $500 donation events.
Following the completion of official formalities including Resource Consent and Building Consent, Sandheep and his team will conduct the Bhoomi Pooja with a Yagna early next year.
Apoorve Dubey, Founder-Chief Executive of Kreyon Systems Private Limited said, “If you don’t have the courage to walk alone, others will not have the courage to walk with you.”
A different version is true here: “Someone showed the courage to walk alone and many others joined him on the journey.”
By all accounts, the day when we will have a beautiful Hindu temple in Christchurch is not far.
Shirish Paranjape is Indian Newslink Correspondent based in Christchurch.
