IRVING, Texas — Rinkesh Desai and Akshar Patel of DFW will soon head to the northeast for a moment 13 years in the making. They will join the 50-person band from BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Irving to help inaugurate the largest Hindu temple outside of India.
The Akshardham in New Jersey is built on 183 acres and took the work of 12,500 volunteers from across the United States.
"To me it's a dream come true" said Rinkesh Desai, who will be visiting the temple for a fourth time.
"Our Guru Pramukh Swami Maharaj was the inspiration for building the Maha Mandir," said Desai.
The Maha Mandir translates to a great place for peace of mind. It is not just a building, it is an enormous complex with 13 shrines and more statues and carvings than you can count.
"There's a sense of pride that you're a small part of building this," said Akshar Patel, who has been to all three Akshardhams in the world.
"We've been fortunate to take part in all three of the openings," he said. The other two Maha Mandirs are in India.
No inauguration is complete without a band, and this Dallas-area Akshar Band represent BAPS is prepared to perform between 10 to 15 songs for the week long event.
"It's not about the size of the mandir. It's about the inspiration the mandir brings," said Desai.
Desai is excited for the immeasurable the new temple brings: the sacrifice, service, and the selflessness. He showed WFAA a piece of the marble he kept from the construction and saved for his son.
"To me it means quite a bit... this was a part of what we did and why we did it," he said.
The temple opens on Oct. 8. They say not just to the Hindu community but for all in search of peace.