Jain Spirit 2005 12 No24

Author(s): Jain Spirit UK
Publisher: UK Young Jains

Page 6

SPECIAL REPORT
INDIAN SUMMER
A beautiful exhibition expressing Bhagwan Mahavir's life, as well as other Tirthankaras, in paintings, rangolis and sculptures was a permanent fixture in the Oshwal Centre's main hall. This was a real hit. Of course, the other show stopper was the delicious Jain food Oshwal put on for the thousands of people who came for the Pratishtha, 3 times a day.
NEW TEMPLE CELEBRATED IN THE HEART OF THE BRITISH COUNTRYSIDE
It was an inspiring time for the community, generating donations of £2 million over the duration of the festivities. The celebrations ended fittingly on the 28 August with a Raas Garba for the Young Oshwals, which was - just like the temple -a unique legacy for the future.
ugust is a beautiful time of year in England. It's the last official month of summer you get real 'scorchers' and rain
the next day that makes you think you could be in India! The 10 days of opening ceremonies for the newly opened London temple got the whole range, starting with a downpour on the 19th (that's ok-it's meant to be lucky) and ending with the muted light of a summer's evening on the 28th. This intricate building in pink sandstone and white marble is the first purpose built Jain temple in this country and is situated on 80 acres of green land owned by the UK Oshwal community in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire.
A photo DVD is now available, containing 1500 images from the 10 days, priced at £20. Contact Jayni813@hotmail.com for details.
More photos are also available on the Jain Spirit website.
Photo captions
Main pic The gods are lovingly taken to thier new home. 2 Decorated elephants guard the new place of worship. 3 The reason for it all. Photo: www.inaphoto.com 4 The pooja tent was packed from morning until night. Photo: www.inaphoto.com 5 Families had a great time in the procession on the way to the site. Photo: www.inaphoto.com 6 Dhirubhai Karania, Chairman of the temple Construction Committee - couldn't be prouder!
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Jains and Non, flocked from all over the world to see the traditional Pratishtha ceremonies. Jain Temples may open two a penny in India but this sort of celebration is one of the first in this country and is the biggest thing to happen for the Jain community outside of India in many years. 20, 000 people passed through the decorated gates at the Oshwal Centre to the temple site over the 10 days, 6000 of those all attending the final Sunday.
This new place of worship was not yet open to the public and those allowed in were the newly blessed statues of the Gods and the families who had donated to place them inside. These families took part in traditional processions to carry the Gods into their new home, led by drums and dandia. The main pooja tent was constantly active from the 7am start to the 11pm finish, with evening dances and a performance of the famous tale of Chandanbala happening after the blessings and ceremonies that took place in the day. Narendra Nadu and his 10 year old nephew, Megh, from Mumbai performed the day long poojas to the captivated audiences. There were other tents situated on the site, creating places for related organisations to spread awareness such as ourselves and The Oshwal Elderly Association. A special tent was put on by Young Oshwals to host children and young adult workshops.
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