Gandhinagar, a planned city on the bank of the Sabarmati, is the state capital since 1970. The buildings accommodating the Government offices are modern in style and architecture. The riverside is being beautified with gardens and wooded parks. In the outskirts of Ahmedabad, it is interesting to go as far as Gandhinagar, where is the breathtaking Akshardam temple, a harmonious and colossal modern pink sandstone building, erected in honor of Swami Narayan. Born in 1779, he went on the road at the age of eleven as a wandering ascetic. From the extreme north to the far south of India, he traveled for more than seven years. On his return, he settled in Gujarat where he quickly became, at 20 years, Guru of a congregation of monks. A large golden statue stands in the middle of the temple, offered to the admiration of the visitors and the devotion of the faithful. A large number of devotees and visitors seem to come here. This spiritual sect claims more than one million faithful.
Several well-arranged halls on different levels present paintings of the stages of the life of Swami Narayan and the regions he traveled. There are scenes of legends from the Mahabharata, epics of saints, village scenes evoking the simple life of people: blacksmith, potter, farmer, carpenter, etc. In a projection room, fourteen simultaneous screens show the creation of the world, human destiny, spiritual life with a profusion of very beautiful images. Then there are other rooms with scenes of the Mahabharata, the Bhagavad Gita, the Ramayana (the exile of Sita, the struggle to rescue her, etc.). Amazing, I tell you!