Tuesday 12th February 2019

 Delhi – Akshardham Temple

Well, here we are on another adventure!  After three flights – Chania, Crete to Athens, then via Abu Dhabi to Indira Gandi International Airport, New Delhi, India, we finally arrived.  It took us almost 2 hours to pass through immigration which was a little disappointing as we had already got our ‘E-visa’ as advised for a quicker process.  However, the queues for verifying them were huge compared to only a couple of people waiting at the ‘Visa on Arrival’ desks!

I was a little surprised to have my fingerprints taken but this rule is applied to everyone under 60 years of age.

We chatted to various people in the queue, a Canadian couple who were on a six week grand tour, a Bulgarian lady who had been invited to a wedding which would take up a massive five days of her ten days in India.  There was a group of Balinese all wearing bright orange scarves.  I chatted with one of them and he told me that they were here on a pilgrimage for the Kumbh Mela festival in Allahabad.

When we exited from the terminal building we were greeted by a thick shroud of smog.  “It is smog and fog” the guy transferring us to the hotel corrected us, “and two days ago we had ice balls” he added looking quite alarmed. Well, I hope the ‘ice balls’ don’t come again while we are here!

Arriving at our hotel just after 5am we agreed to set the alarm for 9am.  The next couple of hours as I drifted in and out of sleep were punctuated by sirens and horns.

Our Travelogy representative arrived as arranged to take final payment for the tour.  A ‘free day’ was on our itinerary today and we told Nilesh that we were setting off shortly to the Akshardham Temple.  He suggested a car and driver but we declined saying we were quite happy getting the metro and making our own way there.  He too was heading to the metro station so we walked with him.

We followed Nilesh into the busy train carriage and he immediately pointed to an empty seat for me. Dave grinned and pointed to a sign above me, at the same time Nilesh nodded at a guy seated next to me, he immediately jumped up and offered Dave his seat.  Now we were both sat under a sign which said ‘For Old or Physically Challenged’. The rep laughed as he took a photo of us both on his mobile.

On leaving the train our friendly rep pointed us in the direction of the temple.  At least six tuk tuks stopped to offer us their services on the short walk there.

The Akshardham Complex or Swaminarayan Akshardham as it is also known is a Hindu temple, and a spiritual centre.

 

The remarkable main building is a stunning carved temple (known as a mandir in the Hindu faith). It is built on a stone plinth in which elephants have been carved. This creates a walkway to circumnavigate the mandir.  Unfortunately due to some works taking place the walkway was not accessible while we were there.

 

Cameras are prohibited and all photographic and other electronic equipment including mobile phones must be left at a secured area on entry. There are two places within the grounds where you can have a photograph taken with the main temple in the background and the cost is minimal. Postcards, books, DVDs and other souvenirs relating to the mandir and the Hindu religion in general are also on sale at extremely reasonable prices.

This amazing architectural wonder was built in memory of a guru named Bhagwan Swaminarayon. The complex is a huge site of around 100 acres; this includes well laid out gardens and also an exhibition centre. Entrance to the site is free and nominal charges are levied for the exhibitions. There is a giant screen cinema that shows a film which was specifically made for the centre.  It was shot in more than 100 different locations and has a cast of over 45,000! Unfortunately, there was a technical problem and the film was not showing while we were there.

In the exhibition centre, moving from one room to the next, the story of Bhagwan Swaminarayon unfolds by way of animated displays and large screens.  In a different building a boat ride slowly took us through scenery and moving models depicting 10,000 years of India’s history.  There was everything from an example of separate women’s quarters in Indian homes to a scene showing that chess was an Indian invention to a model of Buddha sat reading his first dharma in the deer park at Sarnath.

We left our shoes in a sack bag at the ‘boot kiosk’ and entered the main temple which was dominated by a huge gold plated effigy of Swaminarayon.

 

Apart from the main effigy there are other murtis (a Sanskrit word which means an image or statue of a deity or idol in the Hindu faith). The surrounding area is encrusted with colourful jewels and the platform leading up to the murtis is made of green onyx.

Still barefoot we walked around the outside of the temple admiring the elephants stunningly carved from pink sandstone.

We thought that we would try some Indian food for lunch which was offered in the complex’s food court.  An efficient service was in operation where one could order and pay at one place and then go to the individual cooking areas to collect the food you had chosen.

Perhaps I should mention that the only Indian food either of us has tasted was not to our liking and neither of us like hot and spicy food.  But one cannot dismiss visiting a country because one may not like the food!  We will be fine!

Our main problem was that we didn’t know what any of dishes were.  There were big platters with chapatis, the Indian staple unleavened flatbread which apparently may also be called roshi, safati, or phulkaor shabati. The chapatis were surrounded by colourful dips that looked tempting but how spicy were they?

After gazing once more at the pictures of the food offered I decided to ask for help from a trio of guys who had just ordered their lunch.  I explained our dilemma to them, the large American, the tall Sikh (who was wearing a royal blue turban) and the short young Hindu guy at first suggested pizza or a sandwich being the only non spicy options.  I reiterated that we didn’t mind a little spice and they recommended that we try the South Indian Platter and vegetable pulau.

I also ordered a thick type of unleavened bread that the cashier advised was just potato.  Well, the potato bread nearly burnt my head off; I quickly warned Dave not to taste it and took a spoon of yoghurt in an attempt to eliminate the heat in my mouth! Thankfully the rest of the food wasn’t too spicy for us.

We removed our shoes once more when we entered the beautiful Abhishek Mandap building.  Walking quietly around the interior we witnessed a ceremony taking place. The ritual bathing of a murti is known as Abhishek. An elderly man who had been assisting with the tradition then asked me if I wanted to take part.  I immediately said yes and he said that he would explain everything and guide us through the short service. What an opportunity on our first day!

First of all the man placed a red dot on Dave’s forehead and then one a little lower between my eyebrows.

As promised he stood next to us while we were seated cross legged and he directed us throughout the short ritual.  He told us when to repeat after him, when to think of ourselves and others whom we wished to be blessed.  Then we were told to stand and to pour sanctified water over the statue while thinking once more about our family and other people, simultaneously we were told to touch the feet of the deity and then our eyes, heads and hearts two or three times. Throughout the ceremony Sanskrit shlokas (prayers) were being narrated.

To complete the ritual, the man tied a sacred thread on one of each of our wrists and we were given a small card with a picture of Bhagwan Swaminarayon. “Keep this with you wherever you go” the kind and helpful man instructed.

We wandered around the beautiful place a little more before deciding that it was time to leave, we had enjoyed around five hours in the Akshardham.

As I mentioned before, this incredible Hindu temple does not permit cameras, so for two people that love taking photographs how did it feel?

Well, I saw many possible shots but I confess that I enjoyed strolling slowly, enjoying everything without taking photographs.

Chatting to a young couple of chaps in the queue while waiting to retrieve our cameras etc, the younger one asked for a photo with me (this was the first of many such requests). While we were chatting, a tall elderly man wearing a rainbow striped knitted scarf rudely pushed past us all.  One of the guys just smiled holding his arm out and said “please sir” as he stepped back to let him pass.  He showed total respect for the elderly chap or perhaps he was feeling generous hearted after being in such a serene spiritual place.

We took the metro back to our hotel and enjoyed a cold beer in the surprisingly named ‘Tapas Bar’.

Later, we ate dinner while chatting and doing more research refreshing our memories about Delhi and the places to visit.

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