More than two decades of planning and work by the Asian Indian community in South Jersey came to fruition on April 12 when the recently completed Indian Cultural Center on Route 73 was finally able to hold its grand opening celebration.
Traditional Indian songs, music, dancing, art and food filled the center as more than 500 people wandered the grounds of the facility, taking in the sights and sounds of the ancient culture.
Initial planning for the 20,577 square-foot building began in 1987 when the India Temple Association wanted a permanent location that could promote the richness of Indian culture while also promoting friendship among the Indian communities in the area and their neighbors.
Since December, the facility has already been hosting events, such as SAT classes, senior citizen programs, dance classes and musical nights for members of the more than 3,500 families of Indian origin in the South Jersey area.
Now officially open, the center contains a stage, classrooms, a library, a game room, two kitchens and an assembly hall adorned by two large chandeliers.
Those chandeliers helped light the stage during the grand opening ceremony where various center and Evesham officials spoke about the purpose of the center and the long and difficult journey it had from conception to completion.
Dr. Dhiraj Panda, president of the ICC, said the center provides a venue where future generations can enjoy the cultural heritage of “unity among diversity, tolerance and harmony, respect for others without subverting our individuality.”
He said the center was already fulfilling one its primary goals — bringing the various Indian organizations and communities of Southern New Jersey under one roof.
“This demonstrates the need for a facility that we envisioned,” Panda said. “As the famous movie said ‘Build it, and they will come,’ like we are seeing, many people could come and attend this function today.”
Panda asked the audience to pledge to maintain the center as a showcase of the values of Indian culture, and also asked them to keep in mind those who worked over many years to make the center a reality.
“Today, you’ll hear a lot of talk of this beautiful, palatial place, of our culture, or of prosperous community that made this happen,” Panda said. “In celebration with rich friends, I do not want to ignore my friends whose ideas brought this culture center about. I salute those silent workers who brought forth and nurtured this concept and toiled in the 1980s searching for a breakthrough.”
Although the ICC received zoning approval from the Evesham Township Zoning Board in 2001, the application for final approval for the building wasn’t granted until 2008.
Mayor Randy Brown said he and the planning board officials he appointed after he was first elected saw no reason why the center’s application had languished for so long. He praised the Indian community and their leaders for having the courage to persevere and accomplish their dreams.
“It took courage,” Brown said. “It took courage for your leadership to go out there and raise the money, and for those of you who turned over your hard-earned dollars, to believe in these people, to believe in somebody like me, that yes, we will actually give you an approval, to believe in partnership and community and courage — it’s what makes great towns.”
Brown said he hoped those in attendance were in the place they could now call home and officially welcomed them to Evesham.
“This isn’t a profit center,” Brown said. “Nobody’s building this for a return on their investment. You’re building this because this is the right thing to do for the community, for your community, for our community, because you are part of Evesham and we are part of you.”
Also at the ceremony was Burlington County Freeholder Deputy Director Joe Howarth, who said he had a chance to tour the facility and couldn’t believe there could be anyone opposed to it being built.
“Moving forward, in today’s day and age, I think diversity is our biggest strength,” Howarth said. “Diversity makes us who we are. America is a melting pot. America is moving forward as a melting pot.”
