Day Out At BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Chicago

It was 1:30 pm, we made our way to the Swami Narayan temple at Pramukh Swami road, Barlett in Chicago. The huge parking lot was full of cars that indicated a massive attendance. It seemed like there was some festival inside the temple. Most of the devotees were Gujarathis. I tried talking to few, but they seemed distant.

We entered the main building that had beautifully carved white peacock perched on wooded windows in the patio. The carvings on the windows and on the walls were mesmerizing.

“Gods are sleeping,” announced the priest as we entered the main hall.

My cousin wrinkled her brows, “How can Gods sleep?” She wanted to know.

We had been driving since last two hours to reach this place, she was offended to learn that she would not be able to see the idols. The small carved, wooden doors were shut but we could see the idols on TV that were placed outside in the hall just near the donation boxes.

“Gods don’t sleep, He is supposed to listen to our problems 24/7” she grumbled.

“Its okay, maybe Gods need rest too”, I said. “Come lets admire the architecture instead”.

In the basement, there were group of ladies who poured cup of water over the idols (giving bath (perhaps) before putting Gods to sleep.) on the other side was a long corridor where big posters adorned the wall. The pictures were of India saints, who had contributed to science, technology and natural healing methods through yoga and other therapies.

Whether the Gods lived in this temple or not, I was awed by its architecture. The pillars, the interiors walls, the exterior had been carved meticulously. There was wood and marble carving and it was splendid. I admired the artists’ craftsmanship. The one who had worked on this must be truly blessed.

 Rumor has it specialists were imported to etch out the engravings in the doors and interior/exterior marble.

The limestone and marble stones for the temple were quarried from Turkey and Italy and shipped to Gujarat, India. From here, the stones were transported to Rajasthan where they were hewn and carved by 2000 craftsmen. Once the stones were sculpted, they were shipped to Chicago and then assembled like 3D jigsaw puzzle.

The temple is surrounded by beautiful landscape with fountains and statues spread across 27 acres. It was a pleasant walk outdoors and the weather was perfect. We walked back to the main building that had Shayona (cafeteria), there was a big queue for buying simple and tasty Indian food at discounted rates. There was a small supermarket too that sold Indian snacks and sweets. It did quite a good business because every devotee patronized this store to purchase India goodies for their family at home.

Crown Fountain at Millennium Park

Driving through the downtown in the city of Chicago, just near the millennium Park, I came across this strange pair of rectangular buildings, facing each other, separated by the pool of ankle deep water, the children waded through the water from one building to another. This is one of the most interesting interactive art pieces in Chicago. Made of 10,000 glass bricks, it rises over 50 feet and is designed by Jaume Plensa.

The interesting part of this building is that water pours down the towers glass block exterior in a cascade on three sides. I was attracted to the fourth side that featured banks of red, green and blue LEDs, which when I viewed from car window from far, it gave the illusion of projected video.

This is also called Spitting Fountain. I was told, that during daylight hours, the faces of one thousand people are displayed on the towers one at the time. Each persists for 13 minutes.

The expression of the face changed over the 13 minutes, first a serious expression, then the parting of the lips, a smile, and during the final minute, the lips round up and eject a spout of water from their mouths. some of the people went crazy during the waterspout and danced under the water spray, till they were completely drenched.

After 13 minutes, a cascade of water falls over the faces, and a new one is revealed. These faces were selected and filmed by students from the Art Institute of Chicago. They were not told that they would be part of a fountain. Instead, they were instructed to act as if they were blowing a kiss.

But it creates lot of excitement each time the water sprouts from the mouth of the faces on this structure. I was thrilled too, watching this spectacle…

It was the most beautiful thing that I had ever seen.

Stroll through Millennium Park in Downtown Chicago

This Wednesday, my family and I drove through the heart of downtown Chicago, through glittering and vibrant lanes, sky scrappers looming high on the either side of the street. I was totally awed by the architecture. I craned my neck ninety degrees upward to stretch my gaze hundred stories upwards till it hurt   

We drove for nearly an hour in the concrete jungle till we came to a large open space; I was attracted to the greenery surrounding this area. We had to stop there to take in the fresh air.

This 25 acres of awe inspiring landscape was Millennium Park that I had heard about before I landed in Chicago, but never knew it to be so beautiful till I actually begun to climb up the steps and explore the space.

The Mozart Piano Concert drew my attention as soon as neared the Pritzker Pavilion. Summer is the best time to be in Chicago, I was told. There were variety of events lined up, like orchestral performance of Romeo and Juliet; and shows featuring the work of classical composers like Beethoven and Mozart and people were dotted across the pavilion in a picnic mood, stretched on the grass with family and friends, enjoying the music.

I wish I had come here earlier, because this is the place one can spend all day just lazing in the park. I also noticed some high-tech outdoor music and lighting system at The Pritzker Pavilion and was informed that there is free film screenings each Tuesday during this summer till September, with sound and image crystal clear all the way back of the green lawn, so wherever you set up your chairs or blankets, you can enjoy the movie experience.

Another beautiful structure that interested me much was  the Cloud Gate also called ‘The Bean’ a bean shaped stainless steel structure that reflected not only Chicago’s skyline but also all the people in the park. I caught different images from different angles walking on all sides and under it. The reflections on the steel structure created beautiful panorama of images.

Unfortunately it was a cloudy day, or else the sunset would have looked beautiful on this curved surface.

This is the must-see place in Chicago; it is signature landmark at East Randolph street (between Michigan Ave and Columbus Ave.

Book Launch of Echoes of Earth by L. Sue Baugh

When my niece suggested that we go for a book launch of ‘Echoes of Earth’ by L.Sue.Baugh to her local library at Evanston, Illinois, I was expecting a panel discussion with the author followed by book signing at the end of the session.

But when we arrived at the library, we were ushered to a small-enclosed room and the author was in discussion of her book through slide show. Her book documents some of the oldest rock and mineral sites in Western Australia, Greenland, NW Canada and the United States.

I sat there enamored by her pictures as I travelled with her virtually through vast isolated landscape, through huge rocks and isolated islands.  I have never before looked so closely at the rocks, but the red rocks of Mt Narryer, huge rocks at Grand Canyon, intricate designs of Blacktail Canyon were mesmerizing. The author tried to explain through her stunning photographs how the nature had moved her, and the personal connection between Earth’s long history and our human bodies. She stressed on the fact that minerals that lie within rocks also lie deep in our bones and ancient life is within our cells.

There was no book signing session because there were just few copies of her book and they got picked up in a minute, but author was confident that she had aroused enough interest in the audience to order her book online.