With 16 tiers of Hindu script inscribed into its concrete ceiling, the ornate, cream-colored temple is an incongruous structure at the end of a winding road near Brandon, a growing bedroom community just outside Mississippi\u2019s capital city.<\/p>\n
Members of the Hindu Temple Society of Mississippi hope the new 3,500-square-foot structure, built according to ancient rules of temple design called \u201cagama sastra,\u201d will draw throngs of worshippers and tourists to the site in the heart of the Bible Belt.<\/p>\n
Dr. Sampat Shivangi, a local physician, said more than 1,000 visitors were expected this week during a dedication ceremony.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are being made aware of what our culture and heritage and what we bring to the U.S.,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Erected in a community mostly populated by Protestant churches, the temple offers a vivid contrast to the culture and heritage of the American South.<\/p>\n
Brandon Mayor Tim Coulter said he doesn\u2019t believe it would be much of a tourist attraction \u201cunless you have an interest in the Hindu religion.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s out of the way. I just don\u2019t see it as a tourist attraction. It\u2019s not been marketed that way. I just don\u2019t have an opinion about it,\u201d Coulter said.<\/p>\n
Rusty Pyron, whose house is separated from the Hindu temple by the worship house\u2019s tall, wooden fence, acknowledged it\u2019s a different culture from what he\u2019s used to as a lifelong Mississippi resident, but said, \u201cThat\u2019s part of America.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, 16 Hindu priests chanted prayers during the process of transferring the \u201clife\u201d of the temple\u2019s deities before the idols are permanently placed.<\/p>\n
The sweet perfume of burning sandalwood wafted in the air as the priests \u2014 some of whom traveled from India \u2014 presented fruit and flowers to altars and chanted outside in sweltering heat.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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