This weekend was the 10th annual Doors Open Toronto. What goes down is, historic buildings, famous buildings, fabulous buildings within the GTA open up their doors to the public for special tours. What’s ironic is that most of these locations are usually open to the public throughout the year and no one takes advantage of it then. It’s kind of like when a movie you own is on television and you choose to watch the televised version, the one that’s cut up, without profane words or subjects and stuffed with commercials instead of just popping your DVD into the player.
I limited myself to 5 locations which I shortly cut to 3. The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Toronto, the Flat Iron Building and the Don Jail. I started out Saturday morning, Roomie and I ventured off to where Toronto and Mississauga meet further north than I normally care to venture but BAPS was well worth it.
A little background on BAPS as per the “multimedia” presentation provided before the tour began. The building is constructed of marble, limestone and sandstone, no metal, concrete or steel was used in constructing the walls of the building. It took 1,800 craftsmen, 18 months to hand carve the entire temple in 26 locations in India. It’s quite a sight. No two walls, archways, columns are the same. The temple boasts 170 sculptures and 132 archways. It cost approximately $40 million to build and not one cent was provided by the government, it was all raised within the Hindu community. It’s the only one of it’s kind in Canada.
The exterior of the temple
Upon conclusion of the presentation, we were welcome to tour the mandir (what I call the church, for comparison), it’s a place where the mind becomes still, a place for prayer, peace and meditation. Our shoes were removed and placed in cubbies on the women’s cubby storage area. I came prepared and wore socks, Roomie was not so lucky and had to go around barefoot – she was going traditional as all of the Hindu community volunteers were not wearing socks. We ensured that our shoulders and legs (below the knee) were not exposed, sarongs were provided to those who weren’t prepared for these rules. And we were on our way.
The mandir is one of the most breathtaking places I’ve ever been. There is so much going on, so much detail, so much tradition and history that I was extremely overwhelmed. Inside the mandir, Scared Shrines are placed throughout the walls, they’re the focal point of the mandir and house the Hindu deities which are decked out in royal attire and gorgeous thrones. I had 101 questions but was afraid of talking as there was a “silence, please” rule in effect and I have a hard time whispering – oddly, it can get louder than my indoor voice. If you plan to check it out, make sure you check out their website as the Sacred Shrines in the mandir are closed for most of the day. No cameras were permitted inside the mandir but I did manage to find a couple of images on Flickr, observe:
What the mandir looked like, blue light and all. Thanks to CHARLES BRAY on Flickr for this photo
Just an example of the amazingly detailed marble in the mandir. Thanks to CHARLES BRAY on Flickr for this photo!
We stopped off at the gift shop to check out a few things. I found a shrine which I considered purchasing for Princess Pennysnacks (ha, ha) but felt that was inappropriate. Roomie bought a comic book that tells the story of Krishna, “a very naughty boy” the 7-year-old salesgirl told us. Roomie was a great asset on this trip as she studied Philosophy in school and has an impressive wealth of knowledge when it comes to world religions; she provided some great insight that would’ve otherwise gone unnoticed.
Once we were outtie, Roomie had to head to her parents place and I continued back to the T.O. on my own. My next stop was the Flat Iron Building. It took well over an hour to reach my destination as I was heading from the outskirts of the city, where the subway line just starts. Unfortunately, as I approached the building, they were closing for lunch. I trekked over to my favourite bookstore, across the street and when I returned, there was an extremely large line waiting to get into the Flat Iron. Argh! I abandoned ship and went home. At least I reached one of the 2 locations I had selected for the day.
Tomorrow: THE DON JAIL and how I deal with nightmares…
