Samvada, Sector 41 in its October Issue has a lead story, “Let’s Rethink of The New Move Of Constructing A Temple On The H-Block Vacant Land”. Samvada’s concerns against the move of constructing a temple in sector 41 are very rational. I came to know of the proposal of the temple through Dainik Jagaran’s Community Plus on Sunday September 2007 that had carried the news. As it appears, the RWA president wishes to provide this temple service to the residents so that some more persons with vested interest can get engaged, and keep the sector politics alive. Unfortunately, whether we like it or not, a temple mostly thrive on black money and all its ill effects.

I wonder why should every sector have a temple. Will it not be better if Noida could have just one temple grand enough to be its landmark on a big plot of land with its ambience providing the desired peace and tranquility that can serve all classes of the citizens? The best solution is to have temple in each house and that all believers are already having it.

Perhaps many of the residents don’t know that in India the number of temples is more than that of residential houses. It is unfortunate that most of us blindly follow whatever someone tells us about religious practices and rituals. We never try to think a bit about it. Every Saturday I see many young men from the nearby villages collecting fees from vulnerable households to escape the curse of God Saturn. Why can’t the residents discourage this begging or extortion? Will that not help those young men to go for some better work to earn for the living? Do we know how they use that easy money in buying drugs? Can’t they be the chain snatchers in the sector too in their other roles?

Ninety percent or more of so-called ‘sadhus’ that we see today are just fake ones. Even Tulsidas has written about them- ‘Nari mui ao sampati nasi, mund mundai bhaye sanyasi.’ I keep on appealing to all the acquaintances to stop giving alms. We must try to find out how our charity would be used. On the same line, let us look at the Sakti Mandir and Sai Temple of Sector 40. While Sakti Mandir encourages the begging, Sai Mandir educates through its school. Distribution of Prasad in all forms dirties the place and must stop. Can’t some one innovate some other form of ‘prasad’ but the eatables? Why should we assume that giving some coins to those beggars could get rid of all our sins and provide us a place in heaven?

Let me come back to the proposal of building a new temple in Sector 41 for the salvation of its residents. Years ago, some people took initiative and had come to me too for donation. Later on, I was told that some unscrupulous ones in the group have misappropriated the money collected and have disappeared.

But why are we trying to build the traditional type of temple? Can we build a temple that will have a mosque, a temple, and a church integrated in one as something that can make our sector unique? Will the residents agree for that? If not why can’t we build a very good school for the underprivileged or a very good library and name it a ‘Knowledge Centre’ with all facilities for kids, young and old men, and professionals with a convention hall too, that can become a landmark of the sector and can attract the whole of Noida to visit our sector.

As I understand one young man took that initiative but because of the lack of the necessary support from the influential residents, the president and his executive members, he couldn’t pursue the project. I am sure the funding for the Knowledge center will not be a problem with so much of thrust for it by National Knowledge Commission, once the residents agree to go for that. Will this not be a better temple for the posterity and also a better meeting place for all knowledge seekers providing cultural and social entertainment programmes too if integrated in the scheme?

However, I get some satisfaction and a pleasure too when I find younger generation visiting temples in good numbers, even school going children bowing in front of the temple. But I still prefer one or few good temples instead of mushrooming of temples in every sector.

Let us bring a change in our mindset and have one or the other option of new temples suggested here or one if some other residents suggest.