Noted sand artist Sudarshan Patnaik and his team created a 100 feet long, 30 feet wide and 15 feet high Santa Claus on the Golden Beach of Puri. On Christmas day, Patnaik and his 15-member team of sand artists have got their names in record books for creating the longest sand-carved Santa Claus.

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales is planning with Amazon to launch a search engine, relying on human judgement rather than algorithms. Wikiasari, search engine is scheduled to launch in the first quarter of 2007, backed by multimillion-dollar funding from Amazon.com

Wikiasari search result will be focused on quality first, depth second and will include tag based navigation, the top three results will be Wikipedia content and the remaining results will be determined by sites Wikipedia considers to be “reputable” as they are external reference links from Wikipedia pages.

I would definitely would like to use something like this as lot of times these days while searching on Google, along with the keyword I add the word ‘wiki’ so that the first result produced is from the wikipedia.org website. Some of my latest searches were “Charlie Rose wiki”; “boxing day wiki”. I wish Jimmy Wales Good Luck for his latest venture which is expected to take Google head on.

After completing the darshan, we moved ahead towards the exhibition hall wherein they have 3 different shows. Entry charges for the show are Rs. 125 children below 4 years entry is free.

a) Hall of Values (Sahajanand Darshan) : An audio-animatronics and light and sound diorama showing universal values for mankind presented through presentations from the life of Bhagwan Swaminarayan.

b) A movie (Neelkanth Darshan) : A movie that vividly portrays an 11-year-old child-yogi’s epic pilgrimage of India on the giant 85’ x 65’ size screen

c) Boat Ride (Sanskruti Vihar) : A 12-minute fascinating boat-ride experience of 10,000 years of India’s glorious heritage. Learn about the discoveries and inventions of the rishi-scientists of India, see the world’s first university of Takshashila and sail through the caves of Ajanta-Ellora.

All 3 shows were really amazing and wonderful to watch that not only showcased how beautifully things have been put up there but also was such a learning experience learning about the life of Ghanshyam who became Neelkanth and later went on to be called Bhagwan Swaminarayan and how He impacted and transformed the life of millions by his doctrine of love, peace, purity and teachings of non-violence.

Once we were finished with all the shows at around 5 pm we had a mini meal at Premvati foodcourt in the complex itself which served some really good and pure food. There was one another show - Light & Musical Fountain show which was to start at around 6:45 pm in the evening. We decided to wait and see the show as there was a quite a long wait for the show. It was indeed a wise decision to wait as the show was really good and calming experience after a long , tiring but an eventful afternoon It was an intriguing combination of a large stone step-well and a Vedic yagna kund with a colorful light & musical fountain that echoed Vedic sentiments and prayers.

Read :
• Akshardham Temple - A must see for everyone (part i)
• About Akshardham Temple

Last week I finally managed to visit the Akshardham temple after having returned once from the gates because of the heavy rush that was there. I had been wanting to see Akshardham Temple for quite sometime but somehow the visit got delayed each time. I am pretty happy that I finally made it to the place and now look forward to be there again soon but this time I would want to have a much more peaceful visit than this visit when we were rushing to cover as much as possible.

The complex is such a grandeur which epitomises 10,000 years of Indian culture. It is a rare example that showcases the essence of India’s ancient architecture, traditions and timeless spiritual messages. The Akshardham experience is an enlightening journey through India’s glorious art, values and contributions for the progress, happiness and harmony of mankind.

We reached the temple at around 1 on a sunny weekday in the afternoon. We preferred to go on a weekday rather than a weekend as it usually jam packed on Saturdays & Sundays. We parked our car and headed for the entrance and were advised by the security guard there not to take too much stuff inside as lot of things are not allowed. We decided not to take camera, water bottles, food stuff, etc. Though you can keep wearing leather belts but you need to take them during the security check. Entrance to the temple complex is free. Once the security check cleared you get to see the 10 gates which takes you to a big hall where in one can read about the origin of Akshardham, Bhagwan Swaminarayan, Other places where Akshardham is built, etc.

Going though the illustrations and descriptions in the hall, it was quite a good briefing as my knowledge about the temple was very limited. As soon as you come out of that hall one could see the main complex standing in front of you asking to take a closer look. As we moved towards it you could feel the grandeur of the place within you and see the intricacies and the fineness of the design of every smallest object there. Everything around seems to perfectly done and I really wonder how such a thing would have been conceived. We took out our shoes there just before moving up to the main complex, inside the complex in the center was the 11ft high, gilded image of Bhagwan Swaminarayan. There are murtis of the deities of Sanatan Dharma: Shri Sita-Ram, Shri Radha-Krishna, Shri Lakshmi-Narayan, Shri Shiv-Parvati, avatars and twenty-four Chaturvyuh or Keshav murtis of God. This complex is surrounded by a sacred water lake, Narayan Sarovar which contains holy waters from 151 rivers and lakes sanctified by Bhagwan Swaminarayan, including Mansarovar.

Continue reading :
• Akshardham Temple - A must see for everyone (part ii)
• About Akshardham Temple

Akshardham is a Hindu temple complex in Delhi, India. Inaugurated in November 2005 by the President of India, Abdul Kalam, the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, and the leader of the organization responsible for the creation of Akshardham, Pramukh Swami Maharaj.

The main building at the centre of the complex - houses an 11ft high, gilded image of Bhagwan Swaminarayan. The building itself is built of Rajasthani pink sandstone and Italian Carrara marble. At 141 ft high, its impressive presence is felt from afar, and its carved details of flora, fauna, dancers, musicians and Gods covering its surfaces from top to bottom, leave most visitors in awe. Akshardham Delhi is the biggest hand carved structure in the world, today.

Spread across a 100-acres, this complex is flooded with shrines, sculptures, parks, lakes and rides. All these come together to create the most powerful experience of Indian culture ever to exist. Dedicated to Lord Swaminarayan and inspired by Pujya Pramukh Swami Maharaj, Akshardham is a miracle worked by the service and devotion of thousands of volunteers.

The imposing 10 story high monument is made entirely of intricately carved, 6000 tons of pink sand-stone from Rajasthan, with no steel or cement used at all, ensuring that the monument will last for a thousand years. More than 12 million man hours of 900 skilled craftsmen have created this magnificent monument of 93 sculpted pillars, 40 windows carved from both sides,and a feast of forms and filigrees. Built inch to inch according to the ancient Sthaapatya shastras of India, no steel has been used. Support beams are 22 ft. single piece stone blocks. The pillars are poetry in stone, with beautiful expression from foot to crown.

Read about my visit to Akshardham Temple -
Akshardham Temple - A must see for everyone (part i)
Akshardham Temple - A must see for everyone (part ii)