BAPS Hindu Mandir is the largest Hindu temple in the Middle East. Pic/AFP
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Members of the Indian community in the UAE, dressed in traditional clothes, on Wednesday expressed their happiness at attending the opening of the centre The first Hindu stone temple in Abu Dhabiwhich addressed their long-awaited desire.
Dressed in traditional Maharashtrian dress, Moksha Rangnekar dances her way to the temple entrance, a group of people from her state.
Ganpati now has a temple here. It's 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 PTI.
The temple is even more special for the people of the Oriya community as it is the first temple in the UAE to have a statue of Jagannath.
There are temples in other parts of UAE but there is no Jagannath idol there. “It is a magical moment for us,” said Kartik Singh, who works in an oil and gas company here.
Women from Bengali families performed dhuni nach at the entrance of the temple building.
Engineer Stupta Das told PTI: This is implemented when we welcome Maa Durga and today we welcome our deities to the land that we now call home.
Children from Tamil Nadu were also seen wearing traditional Mundu clothes.
Parky Gayatri Prakash from Bengaluru, who was living in the UAE until 2022, came from India specially to attend the inauguration.
I laid bricks when the construction was going on, even though I am back in India now but I didn't want to miss the occasion. “I was missing going to the temple when I was here,” she told PTI.
The first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi is scheduled to open later Wednesday. While the ceremony of consecrating the idols began in the morning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi He will lead the dedication ceremony.
The temple was built by BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha on a 27-acre site in Abu Marikha, near Al Rahba off the Sheikh Zayed Expressway between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, at a cost of about Rs 700 crore.
The evening launch and dedication ceremony of the mandir will be held from 6 pm in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This occasion carries a message of harmony, love and tolerance to the entire world. A temple spokesperson said that millions of Indians are excited about this glorious moment.
When Prime Minister Modi visited this temple in 2015 and 2018 and officially announced this temple, there was a wave of enthusiasm among about 33,000 Indians. The spokesman added that it is worth noting here that the generous donation of the temple land came from the rulers of the Emirates.
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