AgentM
07-22-2007, 05:28 PM
A massive $40-million Hindu temple that is being called an architectural wonder, constructed with ancient techniques and 2,000 volunteers, had its official opening Sunday near Toronto's airport.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty helped open the 95,000-square-foot building — Canada's first marble Hindu temple — on Sunday.
The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir is a monument to the Indo-Canadian Community, a structure considered like none other in Canada.
The local Indian and South Asian community raised the money to build the temple.
Made of Turkish limestone and Italian marble, hundreds of artisans in India, trained in the ancient Vedic tradition, carved 24,000 pieces using a chisel and hammer. These pieces were shipped to Toronto by boat and then assembled much like a massive jigsaw puzzle with interlocking sections.
"So this whole thing has no nails, no steel," explains Sejal Maisuri to CBC News. Maisuri is among the countless volunteers who spent two years helping put the temple together.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/artdesign/story/2007/07/22/hindu-temple-toronto.html
Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty helped open the 95,000-square-foot building — Canada's first marble Hindu temple — on Sunday.
The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir is a monument to the Indo-Canadian Community, a structure considered like none other in Canada.
The local Indian and South Asian community raised the money to build the temple.
Made of Turkish limestone and Italian marble, hundreds of artisans in India, trained in the ancient Vedic tradition, carved 24,000 pieces using a chisel and hammer. These pieces were shipped to Toronto by boat and then assembled much like a massive jigsaw puzzle with interlocking sections.
"So this whole thing has no nails, no steel," explains Sejal Maisuri to CBC News. Maisuri is among the countless volunteers who spent two years helping put the temple together.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/artdesign/story/2007/07/22/hindu-temple-toronto.html