Temple highlights Indian heritage

8/13/2004

The Festival of India, a cultural celebration of the world's second-most-populous country, takes place today through Sunday at the Hindu Temple in Sylvania.

Food, music, dancing, and Indian cultural merchandise will be part of the festival, which also will commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Hindu Temple, 4336 King Rd. Festival hours are 6 to 11 p.m. today, 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. tomorrow, and 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Sunday. Admission to the festival is free; food and merchandise will be for sale.

Fifteen vendors will sell food and cultural items including jewelry, books, and CDs throughout the festival, according to Pandit Anantkumar Dixit, spiritual leader of the temple.

The festival begins today with a prayer service at 6 p.m., followed by a dinner catered by Taj Palace of Columbus at 7:30 (cost is $15 for adults and $5 for children ages 5-12). A musical program featuring Detroit-area musician Narendra Seth and his group takes place from 8:30 to 11 p.m.

Highlights tomorrow include morning prayer services, a lunch catered by Avva's Kitchen of Toledo at 1 p.m. featuring the cuisine of southern India (items will be sold separately), temple tours, music and dance performances, sari-wearing and yoga demonstrations, a dinner catered by the Taj Palace at 7 p.m. (cost is $8 for adults and $5 for children ages 5-12), and a DJ and dancing from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m.

Sunday, India's Independence Day, begins with morning prayer services, followed by a flag-raising by Kusala Hegde at 10:30 a.m., temple tours and cultural demonstrations at 12:30 p.m., a patriotic-themed cultural program at 1, and lunch catered by the Tandoor restaurant of Toledo at 2:30 (cost is $5). The temple president is S. Subba Rao.

Tickets for meals are available at the temple and from two Indian grocery stores, Krishna Groceries, 3305 North Holland-Sylvania Rd., and Reddy Food-N-Spices, 6725 West Central Ave.