Pep'rJack
Active Member
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Maybe I'm just clued out, but I believe this is the first I've heard of this.
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Museum will help build 'new Canada'
Cultural heritage of Indo-Canadians to be on view at Finch and Hwy 427 complex
by Prithi Yelaja
May 3, 2007
http://www.thestar.com/News/article/209686
For those who can't afford a trip to India to learn about that country's heritage and marvel at its ancient architectural masterpieces, a new museum in Toronto may be just the ticket.
Slated to open this July, the $25 million 1,800-square-metre museum is designed to showcase and preserve the heritage of nearly one million Canadians who trace their roots to the Indian subcontinent.
Located on a 7-hectare site just off of Highway 427 and Finch Ave., the museum is part of the Swaminarayan complex, which includes a Hindu temple and Haveli (meeting hall).
Construction of the museum, which began in April 2005, is based on Vedic engineering principles, without using steel or nails, said Naresh Roy Patel, a trustee of the complex.
"It's being done using the same 10,000-year-old traditions, so it's not a replica, it's the real thing. These structures are built to survive for at least 1,000 years."
Several tonnes of Turkish limestone, Italian marble, Burmese teakwood and Indian sandstone were used in the construction of the museum.
Slabs of limestone, marble and teakwood were shipped to India where 1,500 sculptors crafted them, cutting and polishing, using techniques passed down through the generations from father to son.
The final step was hand carving intricate symbols of nature such as peacocks and elephants and lotus flowers into the stone and wood.
The pieces were then shipped to Toronto for assembly by 101 artisans, who were flown in from India.
The museum will include exhibits on the contributions of Indian civilization to the world in such areas as science, mathematics, medicine, art and language.
It will also serve to chronicle the history and the migration of the Indian Diaspora to Canada via Africa, the Caribbean and Fiji.
The aim is to educate the broader Canadian society, as well as enhance a sense of pride in Indo-Canadians in their heritage, said Patel.
"The message is one of pluralism – unity in diversity – which will have great importance for all Canadians."
The cost to build the museum was raised entirely through donations, including a $500 a ticket gala held at the Swaminarayan complex last week, which raised more than $250,000.
Sari-clad volunteers led small group tours of the complex for the 400 guests.
Many of the corporate and political leaders who got a sneak peek at the new museum declared it "awe-inspiring," including federal Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Diane Finley, who couldn't help touching the carved stone appreciatively.
"They say great art makes you want to touch it. My tour guides noticed that I was surreptitiously reaching to touch it and they told me after, `We saw you!'"
Guests, including Opposition leader John Tory and provincial Immigration Minister Mike Colle, were entertained by sitar, tabla and bharatanatyam performances and enjoyed a four-course vegetarian meal.
"This is the new Canada," said Colle. "This is what is so special about Canada because where else in the world would you have the introduction of a civilization that goes back 10,000 years...that we as Canadians of all walks of life will forever be grateful for."
The museum, which is bound to attract visitors from across Canada and the U.S., will act as a cultural bridge, said Tory.
"I think it will address what I think will be one of our biggest challenges that we still have as a society namely improving our understanding of each other.
"As tourists come to visit, not only will they enrich our economy...but they too will learn about and join us in celebrating the diversity we have in Ontario."
Being able to build such an edifice marks a coming of age for the Indo-Canadian community, said Patel.
"Initially as immigrants, you are focused on settling down, doing a balancing act of trying to fit in while preserving your heritage.
"As the community has prospered and established itself, now is the time to think of our legacy. And that's what this is all about."
.
Maybe I'm just clued out, but I believe this is the first I've heard of this.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Museum will help build 'new Canada'
Cultural heritage of Indo-Canadians to be on view at Finch and Hwy 427 complex
by Prithi Yelaja
May 3, 2007
http://www.thestar.com/News/article/209686
For those who can't afford a trip to India to learn about that country's heritage and marvel at its ancient architectural masterpieces, a new museum in Toronto may be just the ticket.
Slated to open this July, the $25 million 1,800-square-metre museum is designed to showcase and preserve the heritage of nearly one million Canadians who trace their roots to the Indian subcontinent.
Located on a 7-hectare site just off of Highway 427 and Finch Ave., the museum is part of the Swaminarayan complex, which includes a Hindu temple and Haveli (meeting hall).
Construction of the museum, which began in April 2005, is based on Vedic engineering principles, without using steel or nails, said Naresh Roy Patel, a trustee of the complex.
"It's being done using the same 10,000-year-old traditions, so it's not a replica, it's the real thing. These structures are built to survive for at least 1,000 years."
Several tonnes of Turkish limestone, Italian marble, Burmese teakwood and Indian sandstone were used in the construction of the museum.
Slabs of limestone, marble and teakwood were shipped to India where 1,500 sculptors crafted them, cutting and polishing, using techniques passed down through the generations from father to son.
The final step was hand carving intricate symbols of nature such as peacocks and elephants and lotus flowers into the stone and wood.
The pieces were then shipped to Toronto for assembly by 101 artisans, who were flown in from India.
The museum will include exhibits on the contributions of Indian civilization to the world in such areas as science, mathematics, medicine, art and language.
It will also serve to chronicle the history and the migration of the Indian Diaspora to Canada via Africa, the Caribbean and Fiji.
The aim is to educate the broader Canadian society, as well as enhance a sense of pride in Indo-Canadians in their heritage, said Patel.
"The message is one of pluralism – unity in diversity – which will have great importance for all Canadians."
The cost to build the museum was raised entirely through donations, including a $500 a ticket gala held at the Swaminarayan complex last week, which raised more than $250,000.
Sari-clad volunteers led small group tours of the complex for the 400 guests.
Many of the corporate and political leaders who got a sneak peek at the new museum declared it "awe-inspiring," including federal Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Diane Finley, who couldn't help touching the carved stone appreciatively.
"They say great art makes you want to touch it. My tour guides noticed that I was surreptitiously reaching to touch it and they told me after, `We saw you!'"
Guests, including Opposition leader John Tory and provincial Immigration Minister Mike Colle, were entertained by sitar, tabla and bharatanatyam performances and enjoyed a four-course vegetarian meal.
"This is the new Canada," said Colle. "This is what is so special about Canada because where else in the world would you have the introduction of a civilization that goes back 10,000 years...that we as Canadians of all walks of life will forever be grateful for."
The museum, which is bound to attract visitors from across Canada and the U.S., will act as a cultural bridge, said Tory.
"I think it will address what I think will be one of our biggest challenges that we still have as a society namely improving our understanding of each other.
"As tourists come to visit, not only will they enrich our economy...but they too will learn about and join us in celebrating the diversity we have in Ontario."
Being able to build such an edifice marks a coming of age for the Indo-Canadian community, said Patel.
"Initially as immigrants, you are focused on settling down, doing a balancing act of trying to fit in while preserving your heritage.
"As the community has prospered and established itself, now is the time to think of our legacy. And that's what this is all about."
.
