The community is cordially invited to the 22^nd Anniversary celebrations on Saturday, April 29^th, 5 PM-9 PM, at the Mandir’s newly constructed expansive grounds. Tickets are $20 per person, inclusive of Food, Entertainment, and more.

The celebration is carnival style where we have a live music from local artists, unlimited food (chat, buffet stall, chai etc), inflatables and egg (candy) hunt for kids and Heena stall – all of this comes with a flat fee of $20 per person; unlike Dusshera mela, we are not selling any coupons. The community ground is about 32000 sqft, of which 14000 sqft is turf; this provides an ample space for all future community functions, marriages, birthday parties, private functions etc. It is everyone’s imagination on how we can use this beautiful space. I showed the space to my 7-year-old son, and he was very excited to come to temple just for playing on this new ground. One can reserve the ground for their private functions using temple’s online booking form.

Hindu and Jain Temple of Las Vegas was established 23 years ago with two goals in mind – to create the harmonious place for worship and to bring the community together. Over the years, temple has served very well to the community and lived up to its initial goals. 0ur beloved temple is visited by people of over 30 countries and has the google rating of 4.9, which is one of the highest amongst temples in North America. Thanks to the untiring support from the community members, volunteers, executive committees, priests, and trustees. It also serves the interest of local community, be it to orient the local kids on Hindu culture or practicing the yoga in the temple on Sundays. It thrives to be all inclusive and vibrant place for all – true to our Hindu ethos “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”. We are completing 23 years of great journey with same goals, albeit some ups and downs which are common to any institution of this size. 

I have been Las Vegas resident during two times – between 2004-2008 and from 2018 until now. In 2004, as a new resident of Las Vegas, I made most of friends by participating and volunteering in various events at the temple. The serenity, enthusiasm, food, and overall atmosphere developed the sense of belonging with the temple. As I moved back to Vegas in 2018, I continued to be part of various temple functions. We are past COVID and things are coming to normalcy; last year I was inducted in the Board of Trustees of the temple and honored to be the co-chairman of the trustees. During the last few board meetings, we brainstormed on various ideas of community involvement and creating the fun place for people of all ages – the idea of community ground was born. 

The place on the east of temple was year-marked for the community hall for years however due to the budget constraint, this was never finalized. We decided to create a largest ever ground for community festivals and interactions. It was on March 05, 2023 – board approved the budget for the project, and we took upon one of the most ambitious projects to complete this ground in the span of 8 weeks to be ready for the temple anniversary celebrations. We never thought we could complete even half the portion but thanks to the collective efforts from everyone, and especially our Architect Pravin Bakrania. We have completed the Phase 1 of the constructions and ready for the celebrations.

Phase 2 includes playground for kids, covered areas and on-ground screens/bathrooms. Here is the sample rendering of how it would look once everything is completed.

One of the long pending requests from community was to create the memory plaques to remember the loved once; we started the work few months back and we now have construction ready at the back side of the temple. We will be putting together memorial plaques for few of our beloved community members soon. Please reach out to us in case you want to create a memorial plaque for your loved once at the temple’s premises. 

Temple intends to further these development activities subject to availability of fund and donations coming from community members. We will be initiating the fund raise activity soon for the future project. Here is the roadmap for the future developments. Here is the sample rendering of the overall roadmap.

The Phase 2 includes further additional features to the community ground. Phase 3 includes covering the current patio area and making it an internal banquet hall and lastly parking lot developments and yoga center. The plan execution depends on fund raising activity and preferences of the people donating the funds. 

Let it be current and past maintenance of the temple or creating the vision for the first Hindu temple in Las Vegas, hundreds of community volunteers sincerely dedicated their time and other resources to making Hindu Mandir a place to congregate for the growing Hindu community in Southern Nevada. THANK YOU, VOLUNTEERS!

With that said, I personally invite all the community members, irrespective of religion or national identity, to come over on Saturday, April 29^th, to celebrate 23 years of spirituality and togetherness.  

Guest Author Gopi Latpate is a newly elected Co-Chairman of the Hindu and Jain Temple of Las Vegas. Latpate is a two-time entrepreneur. He sold his last technology firm to Jones Lang LaSalle(JLL). He is an avid startup investor and advisor. He can be reached at glatpate@gmail.com 

The above article and other information has been slightly edited for the brevity and relevance from the original submission. The view, opinion, and commentary expressed above is that of Gopi Latpate. www.vegasdesi.com is not responsible for its contents.