BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Nairobi
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| BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Nairobi | |||
 BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Nairobi |
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| Name: | BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Nairobi | ||
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| Date built: | August 29 1999 | ||
| Location: | Nairobi, Kenya | ||
BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Nairobi is a Hindu temple in Nairobi, Kenya. It is the first traditional Hindu temple to be constructed on the African continent and was built by BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, an international Hindu organisation belonging to the Swaminarayan faith of Hinduism. It was opened on August 29 1999 by Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the spiritual leader of BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha.
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[edit] Mandir
The Mandir was designed according to the ancient Hindu Shilpashastras and is made from 350 tonnes of yellow Jesalmer mined from Rajasthan, India. The stone was mined and transported to Pindwada, some 400km to Jesalmer where it was hand-carved by 150 craftsmen. Following two years of carving work, the pieces were shipped to Mombasa, Kenya and assembled in Nairobi like a giant three dimensional jigsaw puzzle.
The interior of the Mandir is unique in that it is made from intricately carved wood. Most traditional Hindu temples have stone interiors, but BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Nairobi uses indigenous timber from East Africa that was exported to India and carved by approximately 235 craftsmen.
[edit] Haveli
Adjacent to the Mandir is BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Haveli. The Haveli, a cultural complex, is a large bulding which comprises a Prayer Hall, Kitchen, Dining Hall, Concourse, Assembly Hall, Administrative Offices, Gymnasium, Dispensary, Youth Hall and a Centre for social services.
[edit] Awards
On June 27 2000, BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir was awarded The Architectural Association of Kenya's Millennium Award for Excellence in Architecture.
