BRIDGE BUILDERS
PAST EVENTS

THE REAL MEANING OF DIWALI

Stephen Timms, MP for East Ham, (pictured right) was among guests at a Diwali celebration organised by Bridge Builders at the Ramgarhia Community Centre, Upton Park. 

The event, which included candle-lighting, dance and recitations, marks the Hindu festival of lights, the most popular of all the festivals from South Asia, and also the occasion for celebrations by Jains and Sikhs as well as Hindus.

In that spirit of multi-culturalism, the main speaker at this important festival for Hindus, Sikhs and Jains, was Muslim Ishtiaq Ahmed, chairman of the Minhaj-ul-Qur’an International Mosque, Forest Gate.  He was accompanied by Iman Sadiq Qureshi and Asif Shakoor, a key Bridge Builder and a keen member of the mosque. 

Sadly, bad weather caused the cancellation of a candle-lit procession from Queen’s Market to the community centre.  Nevertheless, young people from the Punjabi, Gujarati and Tamil communities staged a lively show – and explained their different ways of celebration.  Supper followed at the nearby gurdwara.

THE REAL MEANING OF DIWALI was staged in association with the Ramgarhia Sikh Gurdwara and School and the Mudralaya Dance School.