Gandhinagar (Gujarat) India, November 28th, 2006

In the morning I took the bus to Gandhinagar, about 1/2 hour north of Ahmedabad. Gandhinagar is a contrast to Ahmedabad, with big broad avenues and lots of greenery. This is where state politicians live, in large well-fortified houses. Named after Gandhi, it's India's second planned city.
I went to visit the spectacular Akshardham Temple, belonging to the wealthy Hindu Swaminarayan group. It is an elaborately carved building constructed out of 6,000 tonnes of pink sandstone and surrounded by manicured lawns and perfect trees. I wasn't inspired by what I saw there. A lot of money went into that whole private (no pictures allowed) structure complex that could fed many people there.