Source: The New York Times
On November 7, 1999, The New York Times published an article on the growth of the Hindu community in Connecticut, including the opening of a two-story temple in Middletown, CT. In 1950, the federal census listed the number of Hindus in Connecticut at 333. The last census, in 1990, indicated that the Hindu population had grown to 11,755 in Connecticut. The first real wave of Indian immigrants to Connecticut was in the 1970's, with many of the immigrants being children of elite Hindu families in India. Barun K. Basu, who arrived in Connecticut in the 1960's, spoke of the immigrants of the 1970's: "They were the cream of the crop in Indian culture." Many of the immigrants became doctors, lawyers, engineers, and scientists. Dr. Prasad Srinivasan, an allergist from Glastonbury, CT, commented on the success of the children of Hindus in Connecticut: "Many times when you see pictures of high school valedictorians and salutatorians in the newspaper, you see our children." The Sri Satyanarayana Temple, which opened in May of 1999, was established in Middletown, CT not only for its central geographical location, but also for its proximity to Wesleyan University, which has long supported Indian music and culture.