replied that this was the UK and not India! I think there was a mixture of fear of the unknown, racism, religious bigotry and commercial apprehension. Spokespeople for the nearby Merry Hill mega shopping centre joined the battle, saying, in a slanderous way, that there would be half-burnt corpses in the nearby canal. There was also a genuine concern about parking.
The trustees acted with care and patience, and key was communication, and also such gestures as a very good Indian meal given to all the neighbours when the project was explained. They also gave a priority to a large car park in the big area they bought. In fact, visitors to the temple in large numbers have helped the economic regeneration of a declining area. It is reckoned that 2,500 come each weekend to visit the temple, and 5,000 are fed when there is a festival. What began as a temple for South Indians and Sri Lankans has broadened its appeal, with perhaps one third of visitors being from North India. Regular attenders are Gurkhas from a garrison in Stoke, not far away, and many IT workers from all over India, for whom temple-going is part of their way of life.
The temple itself has five shrines – to Siva, Balaji (Vishnu), Murugan, Ganesh and the planets (navagraha). There are nine to ten priests, five Telegu, four Tamil and one Malayali, and they all have quarters in the compound. Normal language used in the temple is English, with Tamil or Telegu interpretation, though of course the language of ritual is Sanskrit, understood by few except the priests. There is a gopuram (tower) in South Indian style, and there are plans for an auditorium for 1,500 people. They gained £3.4 million from a Millennium lottery grant, and the trustees, all doctors at the beginning, each gave £100,000 personally towards the matching funding required.
The age profile of British visitors (like in most churches!) is elderly or middle-aged. There are often more grandchildren than children. In Sri Lanka or South India, children and young people attend the temple. New arrivals tend to come with all the family, and regularly. The Rajahs say that the reasons people come to the temple are: to pray individually, as families, and to pray with the community; to make vows; to commission special pujas; to observe rituals for nanmai and thimai, ‘good and bad times’; for social reasons and to meet friends, and to eat well. Above all, temples are about handing on the faith and culture, and indeed language. There is a Vedic – scriptural – school for young people, and this is attended by 80–120 children during a summer camp. There is also football, classical dance teaching and other cultural activities. This is to try to counterbalance the way religion in the home is also dying in the UK, where weekly worship is no longer normal.
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