All this was made possible only due to the thousands of anonymous volunteers who come forward to brighten our lives in the midst of all this. They are the true heroes, their selfless support brings out the true meaning of DEEPAWALI – The Festival of Lights.
The Diwali celebrations began with The Mayor of London’s Diwali Programme which was held at Trafalgar Square on October 12thand which sawthousands of Londoners turn out in colourful dresses to join the festivity. The whole area came alive with dance, music and numerous other activities. The food too was very good and aplenty. This one big lively party brought together people from all walks of life.
This was then followed by the ‘Rashtriya Pravasi Bharatiya Divas’ (Overseas Indian’s Day) that was held at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre on 17th and 18th October. This was the first time the event had been held in London. The event was organised by the Indian High Commissioner H.E. Ranjan Mather, Sri Prem Narain, the Secretary, Minister of External Affairs & Chairman of OIFC, together with their able team and was attended by numerous dignitaries and delegates. Minister of External Affairs, India, Smt Sushma Swaraj did the honours of inaugurating the two day event which provided the Indian community here with a platform to voice their concerns and aspirations and also be a part of the growing Indian – European Relationship. Views were exchanged and issues were addressed in the hopes it would open the doors for more investors.
The Shanta Foundation organised a wonderful Charity Programme, in support of the Mitre Rehabilitation Centre. Brothers Bhikhu and Vijay Patel of Waymade PLC, head this organisation too. Apart from being able entrepreneurs they are also great philanthropist. Their good work has crossed the borders of UK and spread to many other countries. As in all their ventures in this too they have successfully collected some £400,000 for their charity.
Monday 20th October ‘2014 was the date chosen by both the Labour party and the Conservative Party, for their Diwali Parties. Both put up an excellent show. The pressure of it all was on the common invitees and the media. Different dates would have meant more enjoyment and also not had the flavor of parallel public meetings. But one thing it did highlight was that Diwali has become a Global Festival.
Several corporate houses held their own Diwali themed parties. Each is worth mentioning but space does not permit me to do so. The best amongst these was the party thrown by the Hinduja Brothers. The privileged few (approx 200) attended the much talked about party, which was held not too far from the Buckingham Palace. The music and vegetarian food as well as the programme was excellent.
Brent's Liberal Party held their Annual Dinner Party on Tuesday 21st October at the Blue Room Indian restaurant at Wembley and was ably hosted by Sarah Teathers MP. Rt Hon Danny Alexander, the Lib Dem Cabinet Minister responsible for UK Treasury issues, Ibrahim Taguri, Lib Dem Candidate for the marginal Brent Central constituency and I all spoke at the gathering. Mr Paul Lorber, former leader Brent Council also graced the occasion by his presence. It was wonderful to see nearly a hundred people from Brent's multi racial community being addressed here. The forthcoming issue of the Asian Voice will be carrying fuller report of this event.
This year's festivities ended with a visit from Lord Meghnad Desai toKarma Yoga House on New Year’s day. Amongst many important issues that were discussed included the establishment of Gandhiji’s statue at the Parliament Square, London on 9th January 2015 which would also commemorate the centenary of his return to India from South Africa. This would be a great achievement, and I request the entire community to come forward to help in this worthwhile venture.
CB
