Katy’s first Hindu temple to open in June
The Katy area’s first Hindu temple will open in June, said Priest Udayakumar Gullapalli.
The temple, which Gullapalli predicts will serve around 500 families, is to be located at 26100 Tina Lane, off of Gaston Road. Costing about $50,000 in total, Gullapalli said money for the temple is coming from a fundraising effort. His group of organizers has acquired about $46,000 towards the project, he said, which involves renovating an estimated 3,000 square-foot portable structure containing two classrooms.
Gullapalli said Hindus are moving to Katy to for theircareers.
“Many Hindu employees are working along I-10 in the energy corridor,” Gullapalli said. He also noted the reputation of Katy ISD as a selling point for the area.
Named Sai Durga Shiva Vishnu Temple, the complex will sit on about 2.4 acres, Gullapalli said. The portable structure is already in place at its Tina Lane location. Until renovations are complete, Gullapalli said Katy area Hindus can visit the temple’s temporary meeting spot at the Vedic Center, a Hindu community center in Sugar Land. The Vedic Center is at 16338 Kensington Drive, Suite 110, in Sugar Land.
Gullapalli said his temple will accommodate Hindus from all backgrounds and nationalities.
“There’s a large variety of different Hindus living in Katy,” he said. Gullapalli said more than 150,000 Hindus call Houston home and estimates that over 40 Hindu temples are established in Houston.
The new temple’s mission statement says members will strive to provide a “forum for scholarly discussions” of Hindu philosophy. They also hope to create a library for Hindu literature, among other things.
Rajan Zed, president of the Universal Society of Hinduism, said in an email to The Rancher about the new temple:
“It (is) important to pass on Hindu spirituality, concepts and traditions to coming generations amidst so many distractions in the consumerist society. (It is) hoped that this temple complex would focus in this direction . . . instead of running after materialism; we should focus on inner search and realization of self and work towards achieving moksh (liberation), which was the goal of Hinduism.”