The Durban Hindu Temple Dedicated to Shiva
Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty Pray for Their Cricket Teams
May 25, 2009
From time to time, immemorial large groups of people have migrated from one place to another search of work. Though they have adopted many of the social customs of their new home, they have continued to follow their religious beliefs. Hence Jews have built synagogues in India and Hindus have built temples in South Africa.
Hindu Temples in Durban
Hindus first went to South Africa in the 19th century when the British took them there as indentured labor. After the expiry of their indentured servitude contracts, many of the Hindus settled in South Africa around Durban.
In order to practice their faith they built temples where they could pray. The Umgeni Road Temple Complex in Durban is one of the oldest and largest temples in South Africa built in 1883. Architecturally it resembles the temples found in South India.
However the more popular temple is the Durban Hindu Temple of Somtseu Road. This was built in 1901. This temple is modeled on the North Indian architecture with noticeable Victorian and Islamic influences. The main deities are Shiva and Ganesha. Another interesting aspect of the Durban Hindu Temple is that it is visited by members of all faiths.
Some of the other temples in Durban are the Shree Siva Subramanium Alayam and the Shree Muruga Alayam both in Clairwood. A group pf eight temples 30 kilometers outside Durban is the Cato Manor in Bellair Road. At one time the Hindus were forced to abandon this temple when they were evicted from the area under the apartheid laws.
Celebrities Pray at the Durban Hindu Temple
In mid-2009, a cricket tournament was held in South Africa. This was the Indian Premier League (IPL). The teams were owned by Indians and most of the players were from India. A contingent of spectators also arrived in South Africa to witness the event. Since Durban was one of the centers where the matches were being held, there was renewed interest in the Durban Hindu temple with a large number of the Hindu visitors from India going there to pray.
Among the devotees was film actress Preity Zinta. Apart from being a leading celebrity in the film world she owned one of the cricket teams participating in the tournament. She landed at the Durban Hindu Temple traditionally attired in order to conduct prayers in a formal manner.
Shukla, the head priest of the temple, recognized her but was surprised to see her at the temple. He told a news service, “I couldn’t believe my eyes. I knew she was here for IPL but I never thought she’d be such a religious person.”
Another actress from the Indian film industry who owned one of the teams was Shilpa Shetty. She too came to pray at the Durban Hindu temple. Ironically, the teams of both Preity and Shilpa failed to qualify for the knockout stage of the competition.
The Purpose of Prayer in Hinduism
Both Preity and Shilpa knew that there was no guarantee that their prayers would be answered. If prayers could win matches then sports events would be held n temples and not on the playing field. Yet both came to pray.
Hindus believe that rewards are neither in the devotee’s control and nor should they be desired. Prayers give the devotee the strength to perform to the best of his or her ability and that is what counts.
