Diwali Thursday, October 25th, 2007

Presenter:
Jackie Dalton

Guests:
Yogen Shah, BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Hindu Mandir, London
Rajesh Priyadarshi, BBC Hindi Service
Callum Robertson, BBC Learning English

Programme Summary:
Diwali, a major religious celebration, will take place on November 9th. Hindus, Jains and Sikhs see it as a celebration of life and a time to strengthen family and social relationships. The language focus of this programme is festivals and celebrations.


BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Hindu Mandir, Neasden

Extras
Jackie says: I didn't have time to fit in everything I wanted to include from the interviews I did with Yogen Shah at the Mandir in London, so here are some extra bits to listen to.
The first is about how and why the building was created.

Listen here (1MB)

When people go in to the temple, they have to take off their shoes. But what happens when tens of thousands of people are coming to visit? How do they make sure they get the correct shoes back?

Listen here (1 MB)

Links:
The Mandir, London*
More on Diwali*
Diwali food

* The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites