Alyam Hindu Temple/Sivan Alayam Centurion,Gauteng,South Africa

The majestic Sivan Alayam Hindu Temple stands in all its glory at the traffic roundabout at the intersection of Tangerine Street & 13th Avenue in central Laudium. The Temple falls under the auspices of the Laudium Tamil Association, founded in 1961. This beautiful temple was built here in Laudium by the Tamil community, after Indians were forcefully relocated from the Pretoria CBD where their original temple, the Mariamman Temple in Marabastad, built there in the late 1920s and in stages into the 1930s, still stands today. Apparently, the Temple in Marabastad was first started around 1905 in a rudimentary wood & iron structure.

Like it’s predecessor, the Laudium Sivan Alayam Hindu Temple is also inspired by the South Indian Dravida style encompassing a massive tiered Gopuram (ornate tiered entrance column), decorated with intricately sculptued and colorfully decorated miniature murthis (Hindu religious statues), apparently created by artists brought all the way from India. I had the opportunity to watch those craftsmen at work, during a lengthy refurbishment of the temple a few years ago. A visit to the Laudium Tamil Association’s Facebook pages will provide an insight into how actively the Association observes and celebrates Hindu religious occasions and festivals.

Sivan Alayam is a South Indian Temple with grand and colorful door. The temple serves to give you hope and blessings with just a sight of the Almighty Lord. The temple facilities are clean and houses a peacock too. You can go for Puja’s at special occasion like your birthdays and car purchases etc. Get blessed and eat prasadam.