Dean Jonathan Meyrick is on holiday this week so our guest columnist is businessman Prem Sivlal, who is the driving force behind proposals for a Hindu temple to be built in Exeter. Here, Mr Sivlal, who has lived in the city with his family for the past 35 years, talks about the plans

IN the heart of Exeter, the bustling capital of Devon, a Hindu God-shaped outline has etched itself on the consciences of the city's inhabitants, capturing their imaginations, fuelling their curiosity and revolutionising the concept of worship.

This is the Exeter Hindu Temple, also known as the Sanatan Hindu Mandir.

The Hindu community of Exeter have decided it is time Devon had its own temple, situated in no better place than Exeter. Presently the nearest temple is in Bristol some 75 miles away.

The primary aim of this charitable organisation is to buy land in or around Exeter on which a Hindu temple and cultural community centre will be built. Not only do we plan to have a place of worship for the whole of the Hindu community of Exeter and the surrounding area, but also a cultural centre with an educational aim to teach all interested communities about the Hindu faith and also the Indian culture.

The main aims of the Exeter Hindu Temple are the advancement of religion and education and the prevention or relief of poverty. We will also promote the advancement of environmental protection or improvement — EHT will have a plant-a-tree campaign, paper recycling, solar water heating, and an eco-friendly building.

We will also promote spiritual healing to relieve stress, financial help to hospitals and blood donation camps.

We also hope to perform arts such as music, dance and theatre and will promote good race relations, to eliminate discrimination on grounds of race and to encourage equality of opportunity between people of different racial groups.

EHT will act to enable people of one faith to understand the religious beliefs of others.

Devon is poorly served by facilities for the Hindu community and bearing in mind the long-standing relationship between the United Kingdom and India, we believe that the EHT and cultural community centre would enrich this part of the South West in terms of culture and diversity.

The Hindu community wishes to build upon the relationship it already has with other faiths and to enable a greater understanding between our religions. We would hope people of all faiths and religions will feel able, and indeed will be invited to join in and participate in various ceremonies and functions to pursue an environment of integration, equality, diversity and unity between religious groups. The biggest celebrations of the Hindu calendar are that of Navratri, Jagratha, Diwali and Holi.

We are an ambitious organisation and we are hoping to start the project as soon as we have identified and then bought a plot of land.

As our organisation is a charity, we shall be seeking funding from a number of sources as well as relying on donations from members of the public and Hindu centres throughout the world and figureheads in the Indian hierarchy.