SHREWSBURY, Mass. — It is a special weekend for members of the Indian community in Central Massachusetts.

The India Heritage Foundation of Boston is celebrating the inauguration of the Sri Radha Damodara temple in Shrewsbury.

Hundreds are expected to walk through the doors of the new temple during the four-day festival, which will include speaking programs and musical performances.

The temple sits on about nine acres of land. Construction started in mid-2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic slowed things down a bit. 

Leadership say it is a place where people can practice their spirituality.

"I would say this is going to be a hub to promote and practice spirituality and understand and embrace knowledge," Sadananda Dasa, temple president, said. "This is not just a mere temple where some blind rituals are going to be performed, the whole idea is that if we can understand his knowledge and can practice it and apply it to real life, there lives will transform. The mantra, the practices we perform, it's a way of life , so when you embrace a way of life, it is more authentic, more simple, based on some regulations or principles, life automatically becomes joyous, life automatically becomes blissful, so anybody can try it."

The temple welcomes people of all faiths and backgrounds to come visit. They are also working to finish up the kitchen portion where they can serve fresh vegetarian cuisine to those in need. 

Celebrations continue throughout the weekend before wrapping up on Tuesday.