232. diaspora
and atmosphere of other Srivaisnava temples in general and the Sri Venkateswara
temple in Tiru Venkatam (Tirupati), India, in particular; and more important, in
what ways it is different from its parent. Specifically, I will discuss how the Hindus
near the Penn Hills temple adjust the sacred calendar to coincide more closely with
long weekends in the United States, but also affirm almost in mythic terms the sa-
credness of the land where the lord dwells. I will also consider how dreams and vi-
sions sometimes precipitate the building of a temple or discovery of a Hindu deity
in America; and finally I will discuss a few specific methods of self-interpretation
that some Hindus have adopted in order to explain their tradition(s) to themselves
and their children.
My discussion is based on information obtained from several sources: years of
observation and participation in Srivaisnava temples in India and the United States;
interviews with priests (bhattars)at Penn Hills and in India; study of pamphlets and
bulletins from the Penn Hills temple over the last fifteen years; and participation in
the larger South Indian/Tamil/Srivaisnava community in northern Florida, where
two temples are to be constructed near Orlando and Tampa.
While a few places of worship had been built in the New York area, the first re-
ally ambitious South Indian temple that sought to reproduce the traditional archi-
tecture and recapture the flavor of a Vaisnava divya desa(sacred place) was the Sri
Venkateswara temple built in Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, in 1976. Right from the be-
ginning, the community took pride in this “authentic” temple, as noted frequently
in its bulletins and pamphlets:
Construction of an authentic Temple in Pittsburgh dedicated to Sri Venkateswara
commenced on June 30, 1976 with the assistance of Tirumala Tirupathi Dev-
asthanam.Visitors from all over the U.S., Canada, and India have expressed their gratifica-
tion at being able to pray in an authentic temple constructed on the North Amer-
ican soil.”^1This temple has been successful in attracting large numbers of devotees from all
over the eastern seaboard; until similar temples were built in other parts of the coun-
try, it attracted pilgrims from all over the United States and Canada. It is still seen
as the trend-setting South Indian temple in its celebration of expensive, time-
consuming, and intricate rituals; many younger temples want to be like the one in
Penn Hills when they grow up. The temple ’s success story is overwhelming; in an