The numbers seem to support their claim: More than 10,000 people visited the new Sri Venkateswara Temple in Cary during its five-day grand opening and consecration last week. About 500 volunteers prepared and staffed the opening events, and between 2,000 and 3,000 people were fed each day for no charge during the ceremonies.

Colorful flags and tinsel garland flanked Balaji Place, the road leading to the temple off Chapel Hill Road. Shuttle buses from WakeMed Soccer Park arrived every few minutes with new visitors to witness the consecration. Women in bright saris followed scampering children through the white tents set up with registration tables and food preparation.

And signs of the culmination of 10 years of planning and fundraising and two-and-a-half years of construction were evident everywhere: plywood boards smoothing the pathways over gravel, scaffolding around a tall copper column and three towering cranes.

Deepa Ananth of Apex said the new temple will be a space for religious and social activities. “We feel at home here, and my two daughters will get to learn stories about the deities.”

One-of-a-kind in the southeastern United States, Sri Venkateswara Temple was built according to the ancient science of temple building called Agama Shastras, Hindu practices prevalent in southern India. After years of fundraising and finding a construction company willing to build at cost, the temple was built for $3.5 million, using a team of 13 sculptors from India who worked every day, rain or shine. The highly decorative white exterior is made of a clay and cement mixture.

Fundraising chair Dr. Raj Makam of Cary is proud of the result. “It is a great reward to have this temple in North Carolina,” he said. He said visitors from across the United States traveled to see the new temple’s opening day and participate in the consecration process. A special priest, Shri Shri Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji, was flown in from India to consecrate the temple.

The interior of the temple now houses three main deities (with Sri Venkateswara being the highest) and two supporting deities.

“Visitors gave away their possessions for the gods and placed them in the base of where the deities will stand,” Makam saud. “Then the deities, made of black granite, underwent a five-day beautification process including water, milk, rice grain, ghee and honey. During a final cleansing, they are checked for black marks, cracks and airholes and then put in place.”

When the sculptor creates the deities, the eyes are not totally open, but once installed, the sculptor will “open its eyes,” Makam said, essentially giving life to the deity. The main deity, also called Balaji, now stands nine feet tall.

During the consecration event, priests were lifted in construction cages by three cranes to sprinkle the towers with holy water. After the first wave of community members entered the temple, a helicopter passed over the roof several times dropping flower petals.

Arvind Mahajan and his family watched the day’s events unfold. Mahajan, who owns AKM Realty, Live! Spectrum Entertainment and The Goddard School, reflected on what the temple means to Indian people in the area, many of whom are Hindu. Some 21,000 native-born Indians live in the Triangle.

“I have been here for six years, and as a business owner, I try to connect the community,” he said. "This is a lifetime event for most people, because we don’t often see a temple getting established.”