It will remain the most rememberable day for me when i,for the first time,visited New Delhi on 5th june,2008.My family picked me from my hostel as semester had ended.I told papa to take us to the famous "SwamiNarayan Akshardham Temple" as all my friends suggested me to visit there.So we all finally went to the temple.Whenever you go to Delhi through Noida,you can see its beauty.But when i entered it,i really had no words to praise its beauty,charm & elegance.The main dwar i.e Bhakti Dwar,Gate Of Devotion, was a sight of traditional architecture,culture and nature that inspires inner peace & the aesthetic joy.Entering Bhakti Dwar,we can see the statues of all dual forms of Hindu deities,and also life & work of Shri SwamiNarayan,superbly illustrated through 12 ft high colourful paintings.They depict his childhood encounters with friends,experiences as a child - yogi,social & spiritual services in Gujarat & his preachings of the vedic wisdom.The Main Sanctum enshrines the murtis of Bhagwan SwamiNarayan and his spiritual lineage.It is a place of prayer & silence that gives peace & joy to all.The ceilings & domes of the monument is a saga of more than 300,000 stones,each shaped and carved in a brilliant and intricate array of sculptures & designs.It was all simply mesmerising.A total of 148 stone elephants,125 human figures,42 animals and decorative backdrops were created in 4 years.The most interesting part of it was its exhibition which is divided in 3 parts-
~ Sahajanand Darshan - Hall Of Values.
~ Neelkanth Darshan - An Inspiring Large-Format Film.
~ Sanskruti Vihar - A Voyage Of Indian Culture.
The exhibition is based on the concept of self-sculpting.
The Hall Of Values,also known as Sahajanand Darshan,showcases the values of ahimsa,courage,endeavour,service,honesty, and faith from the life of Shri SwamiNarayan through films,light and sound shows.When i saw these shows,for a minute i thought all are real but then i came to know that all those were self made sculptures.You can not imagine that with every word spoken by these sculptures,their mouth,eyes & eyelashes were moving same like that of a real human being.And the whole environment was made supurb according to the show.I must say that it was the most advanced version of Puppet Show and much more than that.
The second one was Neelkanth Yatra.It was superb,award-winning large format period film on the amazing 12,000 km journey of Neelkanth Varni,an 11-year-old child yogi.This film was shot in 108 locations in India and features a cast of 45,000 people.When i saw this film,it was like that i was also in the film.This film depicts Neelkanth's renunciation,encounter with a man-eating lion,pilgrimage to Haridwar,breathtaking treks in the Himalayas,risky travels through the jungles of Assam........................& much more.The part of 'man-eating lion' made me hold my mumma tightly.
In the last but definitely not the least, Sanskruti Vihar,you can see more than 10,000 years of India's ancient culture and contributions to the world through a BOATRIDE.It was very much exciting to sit in a large boat, travelling & watching the great architecture,sculptures.We sailed through Takshila - the world's 1st University,discoveries and inventions in the fields of education,astronomy,medicine,aeronautics,music,dance.....................,list is very wide................Every field has its own sound according to it, not mixing with the other field sounds.It took us 5 or 6 hours to visit the whole temple.I haven't described much more things in it like its Food Court,the souveneir shop,cultural garden.................................It is so large that you can surely can't visit it completely in your first visit.I also couldn't visit its Narayan Sarovar,MUSICAL FOUNTAIN.I'll visit Musical Fountain soon as i am desperate to see it.You people please don't miss it.SwamiNarayan Akshardham exempifies India's ancient art and sculpture,that is unrivalled in the world.It is really HEAVEN on earth.
Thanks for reading....
