No Taj Mahal for Auckland Indians

India's most famous building, the Taj Mahal, is not going to be replicated in Auckland - because it's not Indian.

It is Muslim and to build it would mean putting it next to a Hindu temple.

That's the word from Auckland Indian Association chairman Kanu Patel over their plans to build a new function centre in Eden Terrace.

The New Zealand Herald reported they were planning a Taj Mahal replica, but Mr Patel said that was "a fiction of the imagination".

The Taj would not be suitable.

"It isn't Indian architecture, it is Muslim architecture."

It was put to Mr Patel that the idea was never going to work because it would involve a Muslim mausoleum next to a Guajarati mandir or temple and he replied: "that's the whole thing".

People who knew India would understand, he said.

"Ultimately the Taj Mahal was a mausoleum built by Shah Jahan in memory for his wife; we are not building anything in memory of anyone."

Building a replica would cost over $100 million and all they were planning was something in the region of $20 million for a four storey function centre.

It would replace the existing Mahatma Gandhi Centre on New North Road and would have "some resemblance ... to beautiful temples around the world".

"That's more our style, and it will reflect some of India's architecture."

The new building would offer facilities for seminars, teaching, religious services and weddings, catering for upwards of 2000 guests. They would also have a hall suitable for the 20,000 or so who use the centre for the annual 10-day long Navratri Festival.

- © Fairfax NZ News