THE MEANING OF THE HINDU TEMPLE FOR THE NORTH INDIAN COMMUNITY IN VANCOUVER by Niranjan Anil Garde A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ADVANCED STUDIES IN ARCHITECTURE in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) May 2014 © Niranjan Anil Garde, 2014 Abstract This research study asks how the North Indian community in Vancouver gives meaning to its Hindu temple. It examines how community identity is expressed through the built environment of the temple. In order to understand the meaning attributed to the Hindu temple by the North Indian community, I undertook an ethnographic case study of a Hindu temple in the city of Surrey, Greater Vancouver Region. The study is also a personal journey through which I have come to understand the built environment as an expression of identity. The research study claims that the meaning of the built environment is related to how one perceives it – which depends on one’s values, which in turn, are related to the context. Such a study offers an important contribution to knowledge about how North Indians use their temples in a diasporic context. It also suggests that the study of this kind of architecture is dependent on the community’s perceptions and meanings. ii Preface This dissertation is an original intellectual product of the author, Niranjan Anil Garde. The methodology reported in Chapter 1, the access to the fieldwork and the data collected according to the prescribed forms as mentioned in appendix 4 was covered under the approval of UBC Ethics Certificate number H13-01590. iii Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... ii Preface ............................................................................................................................................ iii Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... iv List of Tables .................................................................................................................................. vi List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... vii Acknowledgement ........................................................................................................................ viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................1 1.1: INTRODUCTION TO THE PROBLEM ..........................................................................1 1.2: METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................5 CHAPTER 2: CONTEXT ............................................................................................................8 2.1: SOUTH ASIAN DIASPORA............................................................................................8 2.2: SOUTH ASIANS IN VANCOUVER ...............................................................................9 2.3: HISTORY OF THE TEMPLE .......................................................................................13 CHAPTER THREE: THE COMMUNITY OF THE TEMPLE .................................................20 3.1: FORMATION .................................................................................................................20 3.2: SEVA..............................................................................................................................23 3.2.1: CHILDREN .............................................................................................................24 3.2.2: HOUSEWIVES AND ELDERS ..............................................................................25 3.3: SOCIAL VALUES ..........................................................................................................26 3.3.1: RELEVANCE TO THE CHILDREN (FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF PARENTS) .........................................................................................................................27 3.3.2: PARENTS ................................................................................................................31 3.3.3: ELDERS ...................................................................................................................32 3.4: DINING ...........................................................................................................................33 3.5: FAITH .............................................................................................................................35 CHAPTER FOUR: THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT .................................................................40 4.1: BUILT ENVIRONMENT BETWEEN 1991 TO 2000 ..................................................40 4.2: SYMBOLIC MEANING OF TEMPLE ARCHITECTURE ...........................................45 4.3: BUILT ENVIRONMENT IN EXISTING TEMPLE ......................................................48 4.3.1: SANCTUM ..............................................................................................................48 iv 4.3.2: GENDER ..................................................................................................................50 4.3.3: CHARACTER OF SPACE ......................................................................................51 4.3.4: MOVEMENT WITHIN THE TEMPLE ..................................................................51 4.3.5: FORM OF THE TEMPLE .......................................................................................53 CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION ..............................................................................................55 5.1: IDENTITY AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT .........................................................55 5.2: HINDU TEMPLE AS A PLACE ASSISTING IN INTEGRATION .............................57 5.3: SITUATING THE TEMPLE ..........................................................................................58 5.4: THE ROLE OF YOUTH .................................................................................................61 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..........................................................................................................................63 APPENDIX 1: SUMMARY OF DATA ........................................................................................69 APPENDIX 2: DETAILS OF DATA COLLECTED ....................................................................72 PROFILE OF PARTICIPANTS .................................................................................................72 PHOTO SOURCES ....................................................................................................................73 VIDEO SOURCES .....................................................................................................................73 TEMPLE NEWS LETTERS FROM EX- EDITORS (PERIOD 1991 – 1995) .........................74 OTHER NEWSPAPER ARTICLES ..........................................................................................74 OTHER NEWSPAPER WEBLINKS ........................................................................................75 DATA FROM INTERVIEWEES ..............................................................................................76 PAMPHLETS COLLECTED DURING FIELD VISITS ..........................................................76 ONLINE BROCHURES FORWARDED BY THE TEMPLE SOCIETY ................................77 APPENDIX 3: ACTIVITY CHART OF THE TEMPLE...............................................................79 RELIGIOUS ACTIVITY ...........................................................................................................79 FESTIVALS THAT ARE CELEBRATED IN THE TEMPLE .................................................79 VEDIC SENIOR PARIWAR ACTIVITIES ..............................................................................80 LANGUAGE CLASSES AND OTHER PROGRAMS FOR KIDS ..........................................81 PRIEST SERVICES TAKEN BY PEOPLE INSIDE OR OUTSIDE THE TEMPLE ..............81 ASSISTANCE FROM TEMPLE NETWORKING ...................................................................82 SEASONAL ACTIVITIES ........................................................................................................83 SECULAR AND POLITICAL EVENTS ..................................................................................83 APPENDIX 4: INTERVIEW GUIDE ............................................................................................84 v List of Tables TABLE 1: SUMMARY OF DATA COLLECTED .......................................................................69 TABLE 2: SELECTED DATES OF FIELD VISITS ....................................................................71 vi List of Figures Figure 1: Census map 2006 showing distribution of people in Vancouver whose mother tongue is Punjabi ............................................................................................................................................13 Figure 2: Census Map 2006 showing distribution of people in Vancouver whose mother tongue is Hindi ...............................................................................................................................................14 Figure