56 - Swaminarayan Akshardham Temple, New Delhi

Don’t get surprised by the heading as to whether I have turned religious!!  The time has still not come!! I recently had a chance to visit this temple in Delhi and just wanted to share my experience with you.  In fact, this temple was not in my itinerary during my Delhi trip.  By chance, one of my friend’s wife mentioned about this when she was enquiring about my schedule for the day.  I thought in case I am able to finish the other sight-seeing’s on that day, maybe I could visit this too.  It so happened that the other visits got over quickly and I went on to spend some 6 hours in this place!!

I had a misconception that this is a temple of Gods.  This is actually a temple for one Mr Swaminarayan who lived from 1781 to 1830 in India.  Of course, his followers consider him to be their God.  The main deity in this temple is of Mr Swaminarayan. 

The temple is spread over a vast area and you would require some 3-4 hours to completely see all that is to be seen here.  In the entrance itself you have to leave all your luggage, mobile and other things that are prohibited inside.  They have a good number of counters to collect your belongings.  Since there is a heavy amount of walking inside the premises, for elders it will be better to get a wheelchair.  Of course, you have to push the wheelchair as they don’t provide any manpower for this.  They take a nominal amount of Rs 100 for the wheelchair, which is returned to you once you return the wheelchair after your trip.  They inform you that you can donate some amount for the temple upkeep in case you are interested.  You end up giving back the Rs 100 that they have returned😊

The temple is well-maintained with signboards everywhere.   The volunteers/security is also well mannered and answer your questions immediately.  They have a 2-hour program which is a highlight of the trip.  You get to hear about the story or Mr Swaminarayan through a film, through robotics (essentially life-like dolls with record player fitted near them) which is spread over 7-8 rooms/halls and a boat ride.  The robotics display talks about how Mr Swaminarayan came to become the man he was.  Once you complete the show in the first room, you head over to the next room and so on till you reach the last room.  The boat ride takes you through a big hall with real-life dolls on both sides.  They depict the Indian culture right from iron-age days and also displays the various gurus and rishis and their teachings.  All the halls are air conditioned.  The film is depicted in an iMax kind of theatre with a giant screen and is capable of seating around 1000+ people at one time.

The finale is the laser show which is of some 30 minutes duration.  They take a story from the Upanishads and other Hindu religious text books and enact it with the laser show.  The laser show is done on water fountains and is accompanied with a sound and light show.  The show is enthralling and completely enjoyable. 

There is no entrance ticket for the temple but all the shows are reasonably charged.  It is a worthwhile visit in case you are in Delhi next!!  Cheers!!

Today’s Daffy Definition

Wallet – A device that permits you to lose all your valuables at the same time!!