The Himalayas Come to Queens [NY]

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Temple brings Himalayas to Queens [NY]

BY RACHEL J. KING

New York Daily News

December 9th 2007

Rachel J. King

 

[an off-topic treat for our NY-based readers]

 

The Himalayas come alive at Divya Dham temple. The

model, with its tiny temples will open next year.

 

The Himalayas, the towering, snow-clad mountain range in

southern Asia, is considered to be one of Hinduism's most

sacred sites. According to Hindu scripture, Hindus are

encouraged to make four pilgrimages to the region in their

lifetimes.

 

But because not many Hindus in Queens have the

wherewithal to trek to the Himalayas, the resident monks of

Divya Dham temple are bringing the Himalayas to Queens.

 

Since 1994, the Woodside temple has been building a

replica of the colossal mountain range. The model spans

almost the size of a basketball court, with the mountaintops

almost touching the temple's nearly 20-foot ceiling.

 

After years of delays, monks predict the model - fashioned

from wood and plaster and decorated with oil paint - will

finally open to the faithful next year.

 

" In a sense, they can still be in Queens and go to the

Himalayas by going to the temple, " said Swami

Shiveshwarananda, a resident monk at Divya Dham.

 

While the model is not intended to replace a pilgrimage, the

monk said, it does give local Hindus an additional spot for

reflection and prayer.

 

" That is the only one you'll find in America, " the monk said.

 

Monks commissioned Bruce and Jean Williams, a husband-

and-wife architect team that also runs a miniature train

museum in New Jersey, to develop and build the model.

 

More than a dozen model train sets are positioned around

the snow-capped mountains. Western-style fire engines and

police cars are placed sporadically throughout the villages

set up in the mountains. Several teal 1950s-style

convertibles are parked outside of a red-and-white American

diner, appropriately named Swamie Ji's Diner, after Divya

Dham's founder, Swami Jagdishwaranand, who also

established the larger Geeta Temple in Elmhurst in 1979.

 

Construction of the mountain range replica hit a few snags

over the years, including financial problems.

 

Suresh Kapoor, a temple official overseeing the project, said

the endeavor is in limbo until the temple's mortgage is paid

off early next year. Once that is wrapped up, he said, work

on the model will resume.

 

" This project is very big, " Kapoor said. " We want

something special for the people. "

 

Though he was reluctant to give an exact number, Kapoor

estimated the overall price tag for the model will run close

to $100,000. But that figure could rise next year.

 

An additional problem has been electrical wiring

malfunctions in setting up the train sets.

 

In India, there are four sacred sites in the Himalayas:

Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri -

collectively known in Hinduism as Char Dham. The sites

aren't represented in detail within the model, but the project

is meant to reflect the Himalayas and their spiritual

importance to Hindus as a whole.

 

Divya Dham, which translates to " heavenly place " in Hindu,

was founded by Swami Jagdishwaranand in 1993. Located

at 34-63 56th St. in Woodside, the building formerly served

as an electronics warehouse.

 

Construction is scheduled to be completed by the end of

2008. Until then, model trains sit idle on the winding roads

of the miniature Himalayas.

 

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