Year 4

SPRING TERM 2010

Study Visit to Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Temple

I was amazed when I stepped into the Haveli. It is a building with bright carpets and interesting things. We walked through a corridor and turned a corner into the exhibition. We were handed a booklet all about Hinduism, how the Mandir was built, stories of special people and lots more. We all walked around filling in the questionnaires by either looking in our booklet or looking on the many walls and at pictures. I was amazed to see a starry sky in part of the exhibition.

When we walked into the Mandir itself there was a ceremony going on. Everybody was sat on the floor with lots of music playing. Later, we found out it was not music but people saying ‘Aum’. In front of all the murtis were pujaris worshipping the gods. All the murtis were statues of gods such as Ganesha and Hanaman. They were dressed in real clothes with real jewellery made of gold. The murtis are washed and have new clothes put on them every day.

 

The thing I was most interested by in the exhibition was Bhagwan Swaminarayan. He stood on one leg meditating for 3 months. He then went on a 7 year walk through India and in that time he climbed the Himalayas bare-footed. He did all this when he was only 11 years old. At the age of 11, he also was became a yogi.

 

 

To build the temple it took 1,500 craftsmen carving 2828 tonnes of Bulgarian limestone and 2000 tonnes of Italian Carrara marble. It then went to India where the craftsmen carved 26,300 pieces. They then went back to London where they were all put together like a giant jigsaw.

 

Josh Blair

 

When we were in the service the gates were blocking the gods but they opened the gates and there were huge statutes called murtis. Some men, called pujaris, had candles alight and were holding them and waving them around to wake the gods up. After the service, we did some drawings of the gods and the carvings were beautiful.

When we were downstairs in the exhibition, my eye was caught by the carvings of the lady in the wall. It was stunning. I learnt that there were hundreds of gods.

 

The Mandir was built in 1995 and used 2,828 tonnes of Bulgarian limestone and 2,000 tonnes of Italian Carrana marble which had been shipped to India to be carved by over 1,500 craftsmen and re-shipped to London. No steel has been used.

 

Bethan Robinson

 

On our school study visit, we went to the Swaminarayan Mandir in London. When we got inside the Mandir, I was amazed by how beautiful it was. The carpets were lots of different colours and very clean because everyone who went there took off their shoes.  First, we saw a video that showed us when the Mandir was built and how long it took them to build it. We found out that the Mandir took three years to build.

 

The Indians believe that there is one supreme god. The supreme god is called Bhagwan. When he was 11 years old he renounced his family and became a yogi. Bhagwan climbed the Himalayas and stood on one leg for 3 months.

The Swaminarayan Mandir was built out of white marble and limestone. There were carvings everywhere. The carvings were very beautiful. They had lots of dainty carvings of flowers and gods that were amazing. On the top of the Swaminarayan Mandir were 10 flags.

 

Florence Weston

SUMMER TERM 2009

Church Buildings Project

Year 4 pupils have made models of churches as part of their 'Church Buildings' topic in R.S this term.  Their remit was to create a church from a shoe box and to decorate the exterior using the information learnt during their lessons and church visits.  Their creative skills knew no bounds!  Thank you to parents and other family members and friends who have shared and supported the experience.

SPRING TERM 2009

Hinduism

India Workshop

To see more photographs of the India Workshop click this link to the Gallery.

Study Visit to Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Temple

I thought the Mandir was amazing and like nothing I have ever imagined. When we went inside, it was even more magnificent. We had to take our shoes off but the floor was very warm. It took less than three years to build and is made from marble but, because of the British weather, they had to cover the marble in limestone. We learnt all about their lives, what they ate and their religion.