Valmiki Temple, Fisher Road, Foleshill

Image: © A J Paxton Taken: 7 Apr 2022

This place of worship is called Jagat Guru Valmik Ji Maharaj Temple and is dedicated to the sage and poet Valmiki, author of the Ramayana, the epic which tells of Prince Rama liberating Princess Sita from the demon-king Ravana. It occupies a former parcel sorting office which was bought by the Valmiki community in 1978; one of their members worked for Royal Mail. A community centre, which is used as a langar hall for serving food, was added ten years later. The Valmikis, like the Ravidassia community Image], have a long history of struggling against caste prejudice and oppression. Both communities combine elements of Sikh and Hindu tradition. The first members of the Valmiki community came to Coventry from northern India in the 1950s. More followed in the 1960s, many from Kenya, which they were forced to leave after the country became independent of Britain. The temple website gives a history of the community in Coventry http://mvscoventry.org.uk/?page_id=74633.

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