I am from Kolkatta, and went to New Delhi for the first time on account of my job, at Wipro with five of my other selected friends.
One day one of us said, " God knows how long we shall be together, so before we are branched out for different departments lets just celebrate one evening". We couldnot agree more. But the problem was, we all were first timers. Cab used to pick us up from our residence and drop us at office - that was the only exposure we had. "Fikar Not", he said and next day he borrowed one guide map from one of his colleagues. Then we all sat down together and decided upon one place which was frequented by millions in the past both from India and abroad - that's The Bahai Place of Worship or popularly known as the Lotus Temple because of its appearance. Now when the destination is decided the second problem was- Funding. Ya, we were in our first month, eating away our reserves so we had no choice but to travel by the Bus. So after a very exciting bus ride and a walk we finally reached the Popular Sight.
By just standing at the main gate, my first reaction was ...."Its Huuuuge" (23 Acres), I'll have to walk all this way? ...I'm so tired". But once I started walking the distance and my exhaustion all vanished at the sight of the long stretched pavements, walled with greens. Beautiful garden (roses, marigold etc) caught my eye with all those fluttering butterflies and bees over it. It was a like a nature walk. The season was winter, so the Lotus Temple appeared to be covered with slight fog which added to its beauty.
When we finally reached the footfall, my reaction was "Stairs!". Oh yes, volunteers were standing there to make sure you form lines and maintain discipline and then start counting. At one point when I was almost near the entrance, I looked round from the height just to find hundreds of black heads following me.
Well the structure, garden and the crowd all had by now heightened my expectations, and I was dieing to see what is inside? ...But the sight of "inside" was a bit of a let down for me, because there was nothing to see, it was a big hall with long row of benches. I turned round and asked one of the Volunteers "Is that it?" She nodded in favour and added, "We believe in sarvadharma, anybody from what so ever religion can come here".
She was right, when I looked at it again in the light of her words. I did notice Sardarjee, Southindians, not to forget me, a Bengali ...all were sitting there under the same roof. It was very peaceful inside, perfect place for Meditation, only thing that might disturb you is the occasional cry of the babies. After sitting there for a while we climbed down the stairs to come face to face with the surprise element - the Pool with clear blue water. The number 9 is very significant for them, they have 9 doors and 9 pools. Well we gathered around the poolside and the best thing here was that we were finally far away from the volunteers and their "Silence Please".
Well if you think that's the end - No there's something more. Interested to know about their history, then take a walk through their Gallery: Want to collect some nick - nacks for friends and famillies - Feel Free. I did. Well it was a great experience for all of us.
Later on after marriage I came back to New Delhi and stayed near Lotus Temple. And for next few years, I was playing the "Guide" to all our friends and relatives.
Another thing which needs special mention here is, the illuminated Lotus Temple at night. I happend to pass by, quite a few times by the Lotus and every time it appeared new, sometimes it was pristine white at other times it was bright blue - amazing.
All in all, it was great watching a Floating Lotus both at day and night. And honestly, I will remember this sight through out my life. It was a very unique experience indeed mostly because of its adventurous taste, whose charm still lingers on.
One day one of us said, " God knows how long we shall be together, so before we are branched out for different departments lets just celebrate one evening". We couldnot agree more. But the problem was, we all were first timers. Cab used to pick us up from our residence and drop us at office - that was the only exposure we had. "Fikar Not", he said and next day he borrowed one guide map from one of his colleagues. Then we all sat down together and decided upon one place which was frequented by millions in the past both from India and abroad - that's The Bahai Place of Worship or popularly known as the Lotus Temple because of its appearance. Now when the destination is decided the second problem was- Funding. Ya, we were in our first month, eating away our reserves so we had no choice but to travel by the Bus. So after a very exciting bus ride and a walk we finally reached the Popular Sight.
When we finally reached the footfall, my reaction was "Stairs!". Oh yes, volunteers were standing there to make sure you form lines and maintain discipline and then start counting. At one point when I was almost near the entrance, I looked round from the height just to find hundreds of black heads following me.
Well the structure, garden and the crowd all had by now heightened my expectations, and I was dieing to see what is inside? ...But the sight of "inside" was a bit of a let down for me, because there was nothing to see, it was a big hall with long row of benches. I turned round and asked one of the Volunteers "Is that it?" She nodded in favour and added, "We believe in sarvadharma, anybody from what so ever religion can come here".
She was right, when I looked at it again in the light of her words. I did notice Sardarjee, Southindians, not to forget me, a Bengali ...all were sitting there under the same roof. It was very peaceful inside, perfect place for Meditation, only thing that might disturb you is the occasional cry of the babies. After sitting there for a while we climbed down the stairs to come face to face with the surprise element - the Pool with clear blue water. The number 9 is very significant for them, they have 9 doors and 9 pools. Well we gathered around the poolside and the best thing here was that we were finally far away from the volunteers and their "Silence Please".
Well if you think that's the end - No there's something more. Interested to know about their history, then take a walk through their Gallery: Want to collect some nick - nacks for friends and famillies - Feel Free. I did. Well it was a great experience for all of us.
Later on after marriage I came back to New Delhi and stayed near Lotus Temple. And for next few years, I was playing the "Guide" to all our friends and relatives.
Another thing which needs special mention here is, the illuminated Lotus Temple at night. I happend to pass by, quite a few times by the Lotus and every time it appeared new, sometimes it was pristine white at other times it was bright blue - amazing.
All in all, it was great watching a Floating Lotus both at day and night. And honestly, I will remember this sight through out my life. It was a very unique experience indeed mostly because of its adventurous taste, whose charm still lingers on.
