It was a special Diwali for the Hindu community of North London this year when Prince Charles and his wife the Duchess of Cornwall visited the magnificent Swaminarayan Mandir in Neasden to wish them a ‘Happy Diwali’ on Friday afternoon.
This was the heir to the throne’s third visit to the country’s largest temple built in the same mould as the Swaminarayn Mandir in Gandhinagar - the last being six years ago in 2001.
Head sadhu Yogvivek Swami, greeted the Prince with a chandlo, nada chhadi and a garland. The Women’s Wing welcomed the Duchess, before the Royal couple walked to the sanctum sanctorum to offer flower petals in the central shrine.
In the intricately crafted Haveli the Prince and the Duchess both lit a diya to mark their presence at the temple on Diwali.
The Royal couple then participated in a symbolic ‘Chopda Pujan’ ceremony while children chanted vedic prayers. Prince Charles joked saying he wished he had brought his accounts books to be blessed too and would remember for next time.
The Mandir, as has been the case since it was opened 12 years ago, has become the focal point for the huge Hindu community – mostly Gujarati – during Diwali.
Thousands of businessmen converged on the temple on Friday evening for a Chopda Pujan of their own, and were treated to a spectacular professional fireworks display, starting the new year with a bang
Hollywood director Wes Anderson shot much of his latest film The Darjeeling Limited in India. The iconic director has become so enamoured of India that he has been telling all and sundry that he misses it terribly.
“I love India. Usually when you’ve finished filming you are done with a place, but not this time. I really miss it,” says Anderson.
He will definitely be returning, but he is not sure in what capacity or for which project but he is on the look out. If there are any comic scripts out there about dysfunctional families which might appeal to him, you know where to head.
Stars are often subject to such adulation that all fans want is to have a glimpse of their idols, and a touch of their hand is often too much for them to cope with.
But it seems even the touch of a waxwork model of the object of their affection can do it for them too. Madame Tussaud’s, the waxwork museum, have had to withdraw the new model of Hollywood stars Brad Pitt and George Clooney after repeated mauling and pinching by female fans.
The gallery announced that they have been “sent for retouching”. Surely they have been touched a bit too much already!
