The Arulmiku Sivan Temple is a

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hind ...

located in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Glattbrugg Opfikon (; in the local Swiss German dialect: )Andres Kristol/Gabrielle Schmid, ''Opfikon ZH (Bülach)'' in: ''Dictionnaire toponymique des communes suisses – Lexikon der schweizerischen Gemeindenamen – Dizionario toponomastico dei comuni sviz ...

in the

Canton of Zürich The canton of Zürich (german: Kanton Zürich ; rm, Chantun Turitg; french: Canton de Zurich; it, Canton Zurigo) is a Swiss canton in the northeastern part of the country. With a population of (as of ), it is the most populous canton in the ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

History

In the 1990s, an interreligious society was established in the canton of Zürich to support the foundation of a centre for spiritual and cultural care of

Tamil people The Tamil people, also known as Tamilar ( ta, தமிழர், Tamiḻar, translit-std=ISO, in the singular or ta, தமிழர்கள், Tamiḻarkaḷ, translit-std=ISO, label=none, in the plural), or simply Tamils (), are a Dravi ...

in Switzerland, as well as to preserve and maintain the

Tamil culture Tamil culture is the culture of the Tamil people. Tamil culture is rooted in the arts and ways of life of Tamils in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, and across the globe. Tamil culture is expressed in language, literature, music, dance, the ...

of the approximatively 35,000 (around 20,000 in the canton of Zürich) Tamil people of

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

n origin living in Switzerland. So, the

Sri Sivasubramaniar Temple The Sri Sivasubramaniar Temple is a Hindu temple located in Adliswil in the Sihl Valley in the canton of Zürich, Switzerland. History In the 1990s, an interreligious society was established in the canton of Zürich to support the foundation of ...

in Adliswil and the Arulmiku Sivan Temple in Glattbrugg were founded in 1994 as a

non-profit foundation A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

. While some 5,000 Indian Hindus in Switzerland founded their own cultural associations, but not a temple, the Tamil Hindus opened 19 houses of worship since the 1990s.

Location

The temple was established in a pre-existing warehouse at the industry quarter between Glattbrugg and

Seebach (Zürich) Seebach is a quarter in the district 11 of Zürich, located in the Glatt Valley (German: ''Glattal''). It was formerly a municipality in its own right, but was incorporated into the city of Zürich in 1934. In contrast to the innercity neighborh ...

. The Temple is located at Industriestrasse 34, 8152 Glattbrugg.

Cultural and religious life

Poojas Pooja Gauthami Umashankar, mononymously known as Pooja, is an Indian-Sri Lankan actress, who has primarily appeared in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Cinema of Sri Lanka, Sinhala and Malayalam language films. Early and personal life Pooja's mother, Sandhy ...

'' are celebrated twice per day, and the temple festivals attract up to 4,000 devotees and visitors.

Chor der gläubigen Bürger

What do people in Zürich believe in? Which prayer rooms, which churches, mosques or temples do they visit? These were the questions at the beginning of a research project in Zürich's religious life. The

Neumarkt Theatre The Theater am Neumarkt ( en, Theater at Neumarkt) or by its present official name Theater Neumarkt is a theatre in the German-speaking Switzerland situated at Neumarkt, Zürich. It is part of the building complex '' Bilgeriturm''–Neumarkt and a ...

developed the play ''Urban Prayers Zürich'' from this, which was performed in March 2018 in the midst of the altars and columns of the Glattbrugg Shiva Temple. Five actresses and actors from the Theater am Neumarkt and fifteen members from different religious communities – Muslims, Hindus, Jews, Orthodox, Free Churchers and also atheists – form the ''Chor der gläubigen Bürger'' (englisch: ''Choir of Believing Citizens''). But they do not speak with one voice. The ensemble tries, often in vain, to find a voice. But as soon as one of them starts talking, the other one already has his say. They talk to each other with many tongues and then pass each other again.

References

External links