So, in my last post I gave you all a glimpse into the city of Delhi; the noise, the smog, and the overwhelming size of it in general. However, I also mentioned that Delhi also has many beautiful sights to be seen. Yesterday some friends and I ventured out to explore one of them in New Delhi - Akshardham! The full name for this temple is actually Swaminarayan Akshardham as it is a temple dedicated to Lord Swaminarayan. Though this temple is one of the most impressive sights to see in Delhi, it was actually recently built and subsequently inaugurated a mere 6 years ago in 2005.
After about an hour and a half and 3 different metro lines, we (Carina, Lauren, Jorge, Charles, Kendra, Berit and I) finally made it to Akshardham. The sun was bright and hot as it usually is in Delhi, though it was a sunnier day than usual. Or was it just that we walked around for 7 hours? Yes, it was a total of 3 hours of transportation and we spent a little over 4 hours actually exploring the temple grounds. We looked at some of the gardens, the stadium-like fountain, the main temple (of course), looked at some of their exhibitions and even ventured through a Pirates of the Caribbean-like boat ride. Though Akshardham is structured and resembles an American amusement park, it was actually one of the most beautiful and intricate places I have seen in my life. The outside/inside walls and ceiling alike were almost completely covered in detailed carvings. If the security guard hadn't asked me to get off of the floor, I could have probably spent hours just staring at the ceiling. We crossed the lotus garden over to the food court and had some samosas, some aloo vada, some ice cream...and then some more ice cream, it was all a blast (especially the ice cream part). The only unfortunate part of the day was that the security at this particular temple is extremely high and you are not allowed to take your cameras inside. Sorry guys, I couldn't get you a walking photo tour of Akshardham. However, google was more than happy to provide...see picture below! However, this made it an even more interesting experience because we weren't snapping pictures of every rock, leaf and wall. There is definitely something to be said for enjoying something simply for what it is in that moment. Picture or no picture, the temple was incredible and definitely worth the trek all the way out to the boonies.
Alright, gonna go pack now. My program is taking a excursion to Udaipur tomorrow to get some hands-on experience with the health system in India. I'll be gone for a week and won't be taking my computer (sorry!) but I'll make sure to write as soon as I get back.
Alright, gonna go pack now. My program is taking a excursion to Udaipur tomorrow to get some hands-on experience with the health system in India. I'll be gone for a week and won't be taking my computer (sorry!) but I'll make sure to write as soon as I get back.
- Love, Eli
P.S. The song I recommend today is "Ojala" by Silvio Rodriguez. It's just as much of an experience as Akshardham was.
