Rishikesh In Pictures 1

In my earlier post I have given details about the ancient pilgrimage city Rishikesh. Now next few post will be about pictures of this 
sacred city. Let my pictures do all the talking and writing...ENJOY!

Rishikesh - Gateway to the Himalayas

"Rishikesh” the name itself brings to our mind sacredness and spiritualness. This was my third visit to this divine city. One of the holiest cities in India, Rishikesh is not just known for its religious connection but also for its beautiful landscape. Surrounded by hills (the Lesser Himalayas) on three sides and holy Ganga River flowing through it, Rishikesh is an ethereal experience. Rishikesh is the gateway to famous Chardham which are Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri. In fact Rishikesh is a favorite of those coming to meditate and seek salvation. It is believed that meditation on this sacred place leads to salvation. Every year many people come here to the ashrams to meditate and gain peace of mind. The place is also very famous with foreigners who come to India in search of spiritual quest. It is famous for its ashrams on the banks of Ganga, at many such ashrams yoga is practiced and taught regularly. Such is the feeling of Rishikesh that even Beatles could not escape from the magical experience. They had visited India in 1960 to pay visit to their Guru in Rishikesh. What else works in Rishikesh's favour is its altitude (1360 metres). It is higher than other holy cities of Haridwar and Varanasi, so the water in Ganga here is cooler and cleaner. The flow of the river is stronger here and the city is less populated than others. It is believed by the Hindu’s that Rishikesh represent the site where Vishnu vanquished the demon Madhu.

During this vacation, when we visited our brother-in-law in Dehradun, we decided to visit this holy city. We took a taxi from Dehradun and it was a day visit. You will find lot of nice restaurants in this small city. Rishikesh is a vegetarian city by law, as well as an alcohol-free city. We had our breakfast at a restaurant call “Rajasthan Restaurant” situated in the Badrinath JI Road, Tapovan Saral area. We took a private guide to take us around Rishikesh. For the entire day, we payed him Rs100. We will find lot of them moving around but be sure to check their government approved identity card.

He first took us to the 1200 years old Laxman Mandir, the only one in India.It is believed that Lakshman carried out penances here. It is also believed that his brother Bharat meditated here, and there is a temple to Bharat here. Then we proceeded to Shiv Mandir, the biggest Shiv Temple in Uttarkhand. Our next destination was Badri Nath Dwarika Dhish Mandir (Lord Krishna’s temple).Its believed that if you can’t visit Badrinath then the other way to attend moksha is by visiting this temple. Just near the temple, at the chowk you will get to see a big statue of Laxman. Our guide next took us to Vishnu or Shri Narayan Mandir where the entire 24 avatar’s of Lord Vishnu is explained in writings and statues. We then moved towards the famous Laxman Jula bridge, a 450 feet long suspension bridge from one bank of Ganga to other which is the landmark of the city. It was built in 1939. The legend behind it states that Lakshman crossed a bridge made of jute ropes here on river Ganga. The view from the bridge itself is panoramic. The mountains covered in green belt, the waters flowing below, a cool breeze, all these together make Lakshman Jhula a great place to visit. You can also feed the fish in the river below from the bridge itself, the fish gather at the place where people drop food for them. The bridge gives a magnificent view of the Ganges, greeting you with the cool breeze from the river.  To take a better view of the Jhula, one can take a boat ride in the river below, the scene with Lakshman Jhula in the foreground and green mountains in the background make a picturesque view and you can also feed the fish while you are in the boat or go for river rafting. We also visited Ram Jhula, a similar structure to Lakshman Jhula. But it is a more recent addition to the city. Also known as Shivanand Jhula, it connects Shivanand ashram with Swarg ashram. Crossing Lakshman Jhula, the main temple you will see is Kailash Niketan Temple. It is a 13 storey structure slightly different from regular temples. The temple has sculptures of all the gods and goddesses.

A visit to Triveni Ghat is “a must” if you are in Rishikesh. It is the main bathing ghat where every morning several devotees take a dip in the holy waters of Ganga, to free themselves of their sins and wrong-doings. The ghat is so named because it is believed that this is the place of confluence of three holiest Hindu rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati. This is the place where River Ganga takes a complete right angle turn. The most enchanting experience here is that of the evening aarti. Scores of devotees stand on the steps of the ghat at this time. The priests perform the rituals, the golden flames come out of large pure ghee lamps (being rotated in set circular motions), vedic chants fill the air in praise of goddess of River Ganga and the conchs in the temples on the Ghat fill the air with their sound. The spiritualness in the air mesmerises one beyond expression and no matter what religion the people on the ghat belong to, their soul cannot remain untouched by this. What follows is even more spectacular. Turning the waters into golden, people float leaf boats into the river with flowers and lamps burning in them. Eyes follow these lamps as they go with the flow of the river. This small ceremony of ownership symbolizes hope, remembrance and wishes for future. As a mark of our remembrance of our visit we collected Ganga water in a white colour plastic water jar, which are abundantly available in the market. Nearby is the Rishikund or sages’s pond.  According to Hindu believes, this pond was saturated by Goddess Yamuna and it mirrors the temple of Ragunath, which is devoted to lord Rama and his wife. This is said to have been a havan kund where the holy men performed hire rituals in ancient times when the Ganga did not flow nearby. On the request of the sages Yamuna magically appeared in the Kund and have stayed there ever since.

There is another famous temple at a height of approximately 5500 feet is the temple of Nilkanth Mahdeo. It is situated at a hill top above Swarg ashram. Legend goes that this was the place where lord Shiva had drank venom which had come out from churning the sea. After drinking it, his neck had turned blue with the poison and hence he was called 'Neelkanth', the one with blue neck. To visit this most revered temple of Rishikesh, jeeps are available from Lakshman Jhula. Every year in the months of monsoon - mid July to August - fairs are held here. There is also a fresh water spring within temple complex where people take bath before paying a visit to the temple.

Known as “Yog Nagri” or “Yoga City”, Rishikesh is home to many ashrams, and most major Indian ashram, including Vivekananda, Sivananda, Osho, Bihar school of yoga, have an office there. It is a good place to experience classical Indian yoga.There is lot of places which you can attend, if you are interested. You can visit the Yoga Study Centre which is at Ganga Vihar, Tel. +91 135 431196. Bramacharya Rudra Dev, a senior Iyengar teacher, conducts lessons in a rather militaristic style and students need to move quickly to keep up. Another well known place is Yoga Niketan Ashram +91 135 430227.Located near the footbridge, classes are taught in a traditional Indian teaching style. Sri Ved Niketan Ashram, Tel. +91 135 433537/430279 is across the river on the Eastern side of the Ganges. Turn right after the footbridge and it's a five minute walk. The classes offer gentle yoga style similar to the Bihar School of Yoga and classes cover gentle warm ups for the joints, a few asanas and some pranayama. Meditation classes are offered too. There are many more prominent yoga centers but to list all of them here is not possible. Rishikesh hosts an International Yoga Festival, which is held every year in the first week of February.

If you adventurous and love rafting, trekking, rock climbing, then you can enjoy here as you will find lot of agencies providing these services.

The calmness, peacefulness, sacredness, fresh air, sound of Ganga flowing, green beautiful hilly landscape in the background, bells from the various temples(both ancient and recent), the banks dotted with many temples, ashrams and yoga centers will create an unforgettable and truly amazing experience for those that visit this ancient pilgrimage city.

AKSHARDHAM-Temple of Guinness, New Delhi

Lot of development is taking place all around with every passing day. And if you happen to visit a place after a gap of 3years you are bound to see remarkable difference. I experienced this difference during my visit to Delhi recently. Three years back, during my visit to this historic city, we planned to visit Akshardham Temple as we had some free time. That time we stayed at Assam House which is at Kotla Marg, Chanakyapuri. When we decided upon to visit this grand temple, we took a taxi to the temple which cost us nearly Rs500. But during our recent visit to the city, I found cost of visiting this divine delight quite less, due to construction of metro and development of bus services.

As you will move south from ITO, after a kilometre or so, you will find a grand monument rising elegantly to your right, the Akshardham Temple. The complex is spread over swooping 100 acres on the banks of the river Yamuna near Noida in East Delhi. It is one of the finest structures built in the modern India and can be considered as one of the wonders of modern India.

Akshardham means the eternal, divine abode of the supreme God, the haunt of eternal values and virtues of 'Akshar' as defined in the Hindu texts where a heart of devotion, purity and peace forever perches. Portraying an impeccable blend of breathtaking grandeur, beauty, wisdom and bliss, the temple is a desired fruit of 5 years of non-stop, round-the-clock construction and blessings of HDH Pramukh Swami Maharaj of the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), which now manages this pristine architecture. The temple affords a beautiful matrix of marble and red sandstone, with many alluring sculptures that embellish its periphery. The temple brilliantly showcases the essence of India’s ancient architecture,tradition and timeless spirituality.

 Inaugurated on 6 November 2005 by President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh in the presence of Pramukh Swami Maharaj, Akshardham provides an enlightening experience through India’s glorious art, values, culture, traditions and contributions for the progress, happiness and harmony of mankind. Through its monument, exhibitions, verdant gardens and other exhibitions, Swami Akshardham is one of the rare places in the world where heritage of India has been presented in all its numerous facets, insights and beauty.

Swaminarayan Akshardham is a gigantic success story. A testimony combination of volunteerism, talent and spiritual faith. Built with sandstone and marble the monument is a remarkable architectural feat achieved, with several architectural temple styles.

 The palace-like monument is built of at least 12,000 tons of pink sandstone and white marble brought in from Rajasthan. It is a management feat in terms of acquiring the land in New Delhi to the logistics of construction, for which the stones were quarried in Bansipahadpur(400km away), and carved in Pindvada(600 km), Sikandra(250 km) and 24 other rural workshops in Rajasthan. After being transported to Delhi, each stone was assembled like a giant jigsaw puzzle. 

 Constructed without steel, it consists of 234 intricately carved and ornated pillars. Roofed by 9 ornated domes in all the temple stands well above 129 feet high, 275 feet wide and 315 feet long. The temple consists of 20 Shikhars and a spectacular Gajendra Pith (plinth of stone elephants). The temple houses 20,000 statues of Hindu dieties and motifs.  The stone ceilings of the monument have fascinating designs, some of which are five feet deep.The temple complex has drawn inspiration for its architecture from the historic temples of Badrinath (Uttaranchal), Somnath (Gujarat) and Konark (Orissa). It is the second Akshardham complex in the country after the one at Gandhinagar in Gujarat.

Besides the grand monument the complex has huge exhibition halls meant for visual journey of tourists through India's cultural heritage and Indian moral values. The complex also houses an Imax cinema, a food court "Premvati Upahargruh" which can accommodate a maximum of 5,000 people at one sitting, a research centre for "social harmony" and meditation gardens with fountains and bronze sculptures.

From my experience I feel even a entire day is not enough to enjoy and experience this grand temple. You need not worry as the canteen serves various types of food, pure vegetarian and sweet dishes; north and south Indian favourites, and savoury traditional Gujarati items like Swaminarayan Khichdi and yogurt,khaman,etc which will satisfy your palate. There is an Ayurvedic Bazaar within the temple complex where you can buy ayurvedic products."Akshar Haat", a souvenir and book shop is adjacent to it. The shop has souvenirs, gift items, postcards, audio-video cassettes and CD's on Swaminarayan Akshardham. I purchased a beautiful hand-made mobile case. It’s so beautiful that I didn’t feel like using it and has kept with me(for the last 3years) as a souvenir. We also purchased a book “Swaminarayan Akshardham- Making and Experience”.

For a better experience of the Akshardham temple, attend the Audio Animatronics Show (Sahajanand Darshan) at the Hall of Values, where the life of Bhagwan Swaminarayan is portrayed through robotics, fibre optics, light and sound effects, dialogues and music; transporting the audience to 18th century India. Then enjoy the Neelkanth Darshan(Giant Screen Theatre), where the magic of 18th century India is re-created on a giant screen. The film portrays the exciting and inspiring pilgrimage of the child-yogi Neelkanth Varni in late 18th century India. And don't forget to experience Sanskruti Vihar(Cultural Boat Ride), a 14-minute boat ride experience through 10,000 years of India's glorious heritage. You will witness the world's oldest village and bazaar of Vedic India, sail through Takshashila, the world's first university and marvel at the ancient discoveries and inventions of the great rishi-scientists of India. Come outside only to be greeted by a colourful matrix of bubbling fountains that chill the ambience. Interestingly, it is the Yagnapurush Kund, the world's largest yagna kund, with perfect geometric forms testifying the ancient India's advanced knowledge in mathematics and geometry. At night the center comes to life with a colorful musical water fountain that echoes the Vedic rhymes in everyone's heart.

The main shrine of the New Delhi Akshardhaam temple houses the statue of Lord Swaminarayan.



Some Amazing Facts About The Temple


o It is one of the biggest and most intricate religious places of worship ever constructed.

o The Akshardham monument, built without steel, is entirely composed of sandstone and marble.

o It consists of 234 ornately carved pillars, 9 ornate domes, 20 quadrangled shikhars, a spectacular Gajendra Pith (plinth of stone elephants) and 20,000 murtis and statues of India's great sadhus, devotees, acharyas and divine personalities.

o The monument was built after over 300 million man hours of services rendered by 11,000 volunteers, sadhus and artisans.

o The ornate external wall (Mandovar) is the only and largest, intricately carved structure with dimensions of 611ft x 31ft that is built in the last 800 years.

o The Gajendra Pith stretching for 1,070 ft and weighing 3,000 tons, has 148 full-sized elephants, 42 birds and animals, 125 human sculptures!

o The Akshardham parikrama (circumambulatory path) consists of 1,152 pillars, 145 windows and 154 samvaran shikhars; amounting to a total of 53,956 stones.

Temple of Guinness

Akshardham of recent has come into spotlight as being the largest Hindu temple complex in world, as revealed by the Guinness Record Books. December 26th will be marked as the golden day in the history of India and Delhi, when a senior official of Guinness World Record Main Management Committee, Michael Witty presented two world record certificates to the head of Swaminarayan Sansthan, Pramukh Swami Maharaj. The two title were : Most Hindu temples consecrated by a single person and secondly, the world's largest comprehensive Hindu temple. After inspecting various temple all over the world for around seven months, the committee reached to this conclusion – that makes Akshardham the largest Hindu temple in th world. Come to see the temple that is incomparable, both in terms of – Magnitude and Stateliness.

Open time for public: 9AM - 9PM from Tuesday to Sunday. Closed on Monday
Entry Fee: There is no entry charges except for the special exhibitions and shows organized in the temple.

Before you enter the shrine you need to remove and deposit your shoes, leather purse, belts, cell phones,camera's, radio's,other electronic items,bags and other luggage,food and drinks from outside and other accessories as a security measure with the temple authorities. Photography and Videography are strictly prohibited.


Security is very stringent and I found it impossible to carry my mobile without notice, forget the camera. The pictures in the post are not mine but I found on the net. I am still not able to figure out how people are able to sneak in their camera's or mobile phone's with camera when they have to undergo so many security check-up's.

Things to do:

• Murti Darshan: 9 AM to 7 PM

• Exhibitions: 9 AM to 6 PM (Fees Apply)

• Musical Fountain Show: 6.45 PM (Fees Apply)

• Premvati Food Court: 11 AM to 10 PM

For visitors, entry to the complex is free. However, for exhibition halls and theatres an entry fee of Rs.125 is to be paid and for children and senior citizens the charges are Rs.75.

The area around the temple building has been converted into manicured lawns with beautiful water fountains and you will like to spend hours here.

How to go to Akshardham temple?


1. The mandir is about 9-10 kms from the New Delhi Railway station if you exit from platform no. 12 (Ajmeri Gate) and not platform no1. (Paharganj). Auto Rickshaws are easily available.

2. The Akshardham Metro Station is a complement of the mandir located nearby. A metro train to the station can be easily boarded from the New Delhi Metro Station.

3. It is around 4 kms from the Nizamuddin Railway Station. You can take an auto from the prepaid counter at the station.

Akshardham Delhi Contact Information:

• Tel: (011) 2201 6688, 2202 6688

• Fax: (011) 2201 5757

For more information on this unique complex of Indian culture, you can check the following websites.....

http://www.exploredelhi.com/
http://www.akshardham.com/

For information on metro train, check
http://www.delhicapital.com/delhi-metro/
http://delhimetrorail.com/commuters/feeder_bus.html

Swaminarayan Akshardham reflects the essence and magnitude of India's ancient architecture, traditions and timeless spirituality. It is the one of the wonders of the modern world, and the wonders of modern India. So do not forget to include it in your itinerary during your visit to this historical city.