Thursday, March 25, 2010

Baha'i Temple

The Baha'i, or Lotus, Temple sits in southeast Delhi. I love architecture and have been wanting to visit this temple since our arrival in Delhi. Fortunately, a friend was visiting over the weekend and wanted to see it too. So, we headed out on a hot afternoon leaving the boys at home with their papa. This beautiful marble building takes the form of unfolding lotus petals that sits on nine pools of water, which, I learned, represents the nine spiritual paths of the Baha'i faith.


It is such a drastic change from the forts, mosques, temples and tombs that we see throughout Delhi. We were not allowed to take photos inside and you are supposed to remain silent. As we were sitting there, admiring the architecture and people watching, a service began. The silence was broken when a young woman started singing with such a beautiful voice that echoed throughout the temple. It caught be by surprise and I felt privileged to be there at that moment, hearing her sing.

Had to put this in...the biggest flowers I have ever seen.

We had to leave our shoes at the shoe check (not a job I would want on a hot day like this).


One of the things I love about Delhi is that as busy, crowded and expansive a city it is, you stumble upon these vast open spaces, which I find amazing. Another thing I love is that at every historical monument we visit, it is full of Indian tourists--we were definitely in the minority here.

1 comment:

  1. I'm starting a list of the places you've gone, that I've yet to visit! And I've been here longer!!!

    ReplyDelete