Hindus to create a place of their own

A Graha Pravesh Pooja (housewarming ceremony) was held yesterday at the opening of the Hindu centre. Picture / Brett Phibbs

Members of the Hindu community gathered in Mangere East yesterday to bless a large complex which they hope will become the site of a private school.

The new Hindu Heritage Centre, covering 3.35 hectares in Bukem Place, will cost about $15 million to set up. It is on the former site of a Te O Wananga Aotearoa learning institution.

The Hindu Heritage Charitable Trust, which will run the centre, plans to open the school in February.

"The school will be just one part of the centre. We will also offer things such as a youth development centre, a cultural academy, an elders' community centre, a sports complex, and a spiritual awakening centre which will have yoga and meditation classes," trust chairman Shri Vinod Kumar said yesterday.

He said the idea behind the centre was to "encourage the spirit of service to humanity at large".

"The private school will cater to children up to intermediate age ... and the curriculum will be the same as New Zealand schools but the extra-curriculum activities will have an Indian flavour, such as traditional dance and music classes.

"We aren't sure how many students there will be yet or how much it will cost. It's early days. We have contacted the Ministry of Education ... and we are confident we will be able to open it."

He said the community had expressed the need for a school in the area. It would be open to everybody, but certain subjects such as Hindi would be compulsory, he said.

Mr Kumar would not say exactly how much the complex cost. "It was valued at more than $7.5 million and I can say we paid less than that."

According to 2001 census statistics, 2 per cent of the resident population in the Auckland region were Hindu.

Ministry of Education spokesman Vince Cholewa said yesterday it had not received an application from the trust to open the school.

"That doesn't mean they won't apply, but if they want to open it next year they will need to get their application in quickly."