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Detroit Sikhs get a swank new
Gurdwara
PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP: Its temporary occupants are filmmakers who are
expected to wrap up a first for Metro Detroit -- a movie about a
Sikh doctor's struggles with acceptance and health costs.
 But the turban-wearing actors, writer and director hint at what's to
come for a grandiose building that's stood vacant for more than two
years, a relic of Michigan's waylaid economy.
After the crew of the film "Ocean of Pearls" departs, the ornate
Hidden Falls Wellness Center that went bankrupt and closed just
weeks after it opened will become the Guru Nanak Sikh Temple.
The church of mostly Indian immigrants bought the facility, which
cost $6 million to build, for less than $3 million. Early next year,
it will be reborn as a testament to the success -- and permanence --
of the 5,000 followers of Sikhism in Metro Detroit.
The congregation, which is leaving another facility on Five Mile,
got "a screaming good deal, but the place was built like the Taj
Mahal so this is appropriate," said Realtor Scott McGinnis, who
represents parties selling land next door on Schoolcraft and
Haggerty.
"It was a perfect building," agreed Raman Singh, 41, a trustee of
the foundation that operates one of three Sikh temples in southeast
Michigan.
After the high-end health club closed, its once lavish landscaping
deteriorated, neighbors complained about youths in the parking lot
and speculation swirled about who would buy the opulent building.
Few knew the octagon facility that surrounds a hidden courtyard
garden of pools and flowering waterfalls would suit the Sikhs' needs
so well.
The former gymnasium with its split bamboo floor will serve as a
main prayer room. Other areas will become classrooms and offices for
youth education, senior services and other activities. The domed
portico entrance already resembles the traditional Gurdwara temple
-- or "the doorway to the Guru" -- from which Sikhs read holy
scripture during Sunday services.
The Plymouth Township temple comes at an important time for the
local Sikhs. Many are doctors, lawyers and business owners who hope
the move signals their desire for permanence and commitment to the
region.
Sikhism emerged in northern India in the 15th century and has 23
million followers worldwide. Sikhs first came to the United States
more than 100 years ago and now number 500,000, but the turbans and
traditional robes worn by devout followers cause some to be seen as
foreigners. Since the 2001 terror attacks, they are frequently
mistaken for Arabs or Muslims.
They are neither.
"We want to be good neighbors, but we know we are misunderstood
because of the clothes we wear as a sign of our faith," said Singh,
who is trained as a mechanical engineer and owns a Plymouth reading
and math tutoring center.
"That is why we agreed to let them film the movie here."
The film started production Oct. 17 inside the former health club
and at locations throughout Metro Detroit. A scene re-creating
Toronto's airport was to be shot Saturday at Detroit City Airport.
Producer Curtis Hall of Lansing said he's seeking a distributor to
put the drama into mainstream movie houses next year.
"A movie can educate," Hall said. "It can show what it is to be
Sikh, the tenets of the faith, the similarities with other faiths
and the differences from Islam or other religions."
The film traces the journey of a surgeon played by actor Omid Abtahi
who moves from Toronto to Detroit for a position with a new
transplant and research clinic. A Sikh, he struggles against racial
profiling and the unfairness of medical costs. When a favorite
patient dies, he volunteers at a camp for Sikh children, where he
restores his faith and confidence.
Filming inside the temple, which houses eight different sets
representing homes and hospitals, is scheduled to finish today, but
post-production work would keep the crew in the building through
Thanksgiving.
29 November 2006
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