Biggest Statue (Murti) of Hanuman in Africa at Chatsworth Shri Vishnu Temple in Durban in South Africa

Shri Vishnu Temple Society at Chatsworth in Durban in South Africa will unveil what it believes is the largest murti (statue) of Hindu God Hanuman in Africa in December 2010. Chatsworth is a township in Durban, South Africa, and the 13m high Hanuman Murti (referred as the Monkey God here) is to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the arrival of Indians in South Africa.

Timeslive South Africa reports

Project co-ordinator LC Maharaj said the statue, which is 13m high, including the umbrella over the head of the deity, was "in praise of the Almighty, without which the survival and success of Indians in South Africa would never have been possible".

"The atmosphere at our temple has been unbelievable. Devotees have volunteered their services to our worthwhile cause, and despite the great progress made so far, we still require some funding."

He said the statue, which still requires plastering and painting, would be officially unveiled at the beginning of December. According to his research, there are no larger Hanuman statues in Africa.

Contractor Umash Harripershad, who is working on the statue, said: "We have used 12 truckloads of ready-mixed concrete in this project, 53 tons of which went into the foundation alone. The temple provided the design."

He said despite working with a staff of only six to eight untrained devotees and a couple of casual workers, the project, which should have taken 12 months, would be completed in a quarter of that time.’

Harripershad had been on a strict fast and had been sleeping on the floor for the past three months as a sacrifice for the work he considered "honorable".

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