Dream finally comes true for Indian community as they're given special low-rent temple in Milton Keynes

A multi-faith Indian community called DREAMSAI has finally achieved its dream of having a temple to use for worship in Milton Keynes.

The building opens this weekend at Kingston District Centre and is being leased through the MK Community Foundation’s rent subsidy scheme.

DREAMSAI members span all religions and worship Shirdi Saibaba, an Indian Saint who devoted his life to the service of people, and the MK community follow his ethos of charity, humanity and love.

The group is also a registered charity and members work tirelessly to help others in the city.

Three years ago they planned to build their own temple in the middle of Tattenhoe estate but suffered a major blow when planning permission was refused following objections from residents.

A spokesman for DREAMSAI said: “A local temple that is open every day of the week for worship has been a deep-rooted desire of the thousands of MK Indian community members for five decades. DREAMSAI community has persistently worked towards this herculean task since 2015 and overcome numerous challenges.

"Thanks to MK Community Foundation, who leased the premises with rent subsidy scheme, this facility is now ready to become a great addition to the diverse and inclusive profile of our city of Milton Keynes.”

Currently members have had to travel for London or Birmingham for worship and Mandir.. Mandir is a focal point of spiritual significance and social gathering for people of Indian origin where families gather for special occasions including birthdays, anniversaries, and festivals such as Diwali.

DREAMSAI is an inclusive charity and respects every individual irrespective of their religion, gender or race which is evidently demonstrated in their food charity activities. It won Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2021.

The new temple will also be a community centre and a base for DREAMSAI’s many charitable activities. Their hugely popular Food for SAI, project named after Guru SAI, delivers over quarter of million meals every year - including cooked meals to homeless, food parcels to vulnerable families and breakfast packs to local schools.

Their Blood and Organ donation project, organised in association with NHS Blood & Transplant, attracts many new donors every year. And the charity’s Active Youth and Volunteer Engagement scheme has been another significant achievement, with more than 40% of their 450-strong local volunteer force being young people.

Recently, 25 trekkers successfully completed three peak challenge to raise funds for the new temple project.

Laxman Kastala, Founder & Chairman of DREAMSAI said “Two generations of Indian-origin kids have grown in Milton Keynes without a chance to witness and experience their culture, traditions and values, resulting in lost identity.

"Your authentic self is non-negotiable. This Temple and Community Centre will be a fantastic opportunity for our community to practice their core values.

“These are Based on our Guru Saibaba’s doctrine Sabka Malik Ek, which translates to ‘There is only one God’.

"This Temple warmly welcome people from across the faiths, as well as no faith, to come and experience this exciting place. We will be delighted to show you around

"We sincerely and profoundly thank all our volunteers, donors., community members and especially National Lottery Heritage Fund and Milton Keynes Community Foundation for their support.”