“Pic of the Week”, February 3, 2017: Raj Ghat, India

The Last Journey of Mahatma Gandhi – February 1948 (5)

There is little question that Mahatma Gandhi is the father of modern India.  We’ve previously looked at the home — the old Birla house — in which Gandhi lived the last months of his life; it was on the grounds of this home that he was assassinated.  Today we visit another important site in Gandhi’s life, Raj Ghat.  This post takes the story a step further, discussing what happened to Mahatma Gandhi’s remains after he was killed.

Gandhi’s body was washed and wrapped in fresh white cloth.  He lay at the old Birla House for a less than a day, surrounded and covered by flower petals in the Hindi manner.  From here, a massive procession moved Gandhi’s body to …

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Karl on Feb 4, 2017 | Comments Off on “Pic of the Week”, February 3, 2017: Raj Ghat, India

“Pic of the Week”, March 18, 2016: The Lotus Temple, South Delhi

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One of the great new landmarks in Delhi is the Lotus Temple, built during 1980-1986 at a cost 10 million rupee.  The Temple is shaped like the lotus flower, its 27 petals made of concrete cores clad in a layer of white marble.  The marble is surprisingly not of Indian origin (the beautiful Taj Mahal is constructed of beautiful white Indian marble), but rather from Mt. Penteli in Greece.  The architect was an Iranian-Canadian, Fariborz Sahba, and the building has won numerous architectural awards.

The temple is set amidst pools and gardens.  It was built by the Bahai faith and is the only Bahai Temple in Asia.  This Temple is open to people of all faiths, and has no idols of any …

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Karl on Mar 17, 2016 | Comments Off on “Pic of the Week”, March 18, 2016: The Lotus Temple, South Delhi