A Hindu temple, open to everyone
In Neasden, of all places, often mocked as the epitome of a faceless suburb and described by Sir John Betjeman as the »home of the gnome and the average citizen«, a gleaming white apparition rises above the rows of semi-detached houses as if transplanted from a fairy tale. A Hindu spiritual organisation, the Swaminarayan group, found cheap building land here – but otherwise spared no expense. Over a three-year period up to 1995, volunteers under expert supervision built a 60-metre long temple with domes and sugarloaf towers using Bulgarian limestone and 1200 tons of Carrara marble. The architecture is based on Vedic texts and used no structural steel. The stone was carved in India by 1400 sculptors trained in depicting the world of Hindu gods, then shipped to London.
The result is breathtaking. Almost every surface is elaborately carved with swirling, snaking patterns and adorned by deities. Visitors arriving at the main entrance are greeted by dancers waving their stone limbs between deeply incised columns. The interior is almost more sumptuous than the outside. From lobbies whose ceilings are covered in wood carvings, the stairway leads up to the Great Hall, where an »arti« ceremony is performed every day at 11.45 am in a brightly illuminated space under a dome supported by marble columns and adorned with depictions of the Hindu gods.
Info
Address 105–119 Brentfield Road, Neasden, NW10 8LD | Public Transport Stonebridge Park (Bakerloo Line), then 15 minutes’ walk (signposted) | Hours Mon–Sun 9am–6pm, for times of ceremonies see http://londonmandir.baps.org| Tip Next to the car park opposite the temple, the Shayona Restaurant serves excellent vegetarian Indian meals at very reasonable prices (daily 11.30am–10pm).
Those who attend are expected to take off their shoes and dress modestly. Non-Hindus are welcomed sincerely to the ceremony, in which monks perform movements with burning candles in their hands in front of gaudily dressed images of gods to the sound of drums and bells. When this ends, worshippers put their hands to the candles and spread the divine power of the flame over their heads. After the ceremony, visitors can walk out onto a balcony for a close-up view of the temple sculptures and view an exhibition about Hinduism. It is an uplifting experience in an unexpected location.
Back
To the online map