Prince Charles and wife Camilla visit Temple

Thursday, March 5, 2009 at 11:03 am

Prince Charles, accompanied by his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, has visited the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir and a school attached to the temple to celebrate the festival of Holi.

The Royal couple visited the Mandir last evening to pay their respects to the deities and were greeted by the Deputy Lord Lieutenant Mei Sim Lai and the Mayor of Brent, Councillor Ralph Fox and Jitu Patel, chair of the Board of Trustees.

The head sadhu of the Mandir, Yogvivek Swami, welcomed Prince Charles in the traditional manner before garlanding him. Senior ladies of the Women’s Wing welcomed his wife.

Prince Charles then proceeded to the sanctum, escorted by Swami and Jitu Patel, where he offered flower petals at the central shrine. The Duchess led by Pooja Patel, National Coordinator of Youth Activities for the Women’s Wing, also offered flower petals at the central shrine.

The couple stayed there for few minutes admiring the beautiful intricate architecture of the Mandir.

Subsequently, they walked through the ceremonial gates of the Mandir to the school, where the head teacher Savjani, the Chair of Governors, Piyush Amin and others were introduced to the Royal couple.

Prince Charles also visited the Performing Arts classroom to hear traditional Indian musical instruments being played. He also tried his hand at a small Indian drum. Then he visited a Prep School classroom and interacted with children.

Besides witnessing the Holi-based art exhibits, he visited the school gym and witnessed the children playing Holi, spraying each other with water. The pupils were showered with flower petals by Prince Charles and Camilla as a symbolic gesture of their having taken part in the festival.

They was presented with mementos by the Head Girl and Head Boy of the Senior School before bidding farewell. Savjani said: “it was so wonderful and an honour to have Prince Charles and The Duchess of Cornwall at the school to celebrate the Holi festival.

“The Royals enjoyed every bit of the visit, especially the music and dance. They were impressed by the School’s exceptional performance in the results’ league tables in recent years.”

Piyush Amin said Prince Charles was impressed by the way in which culture and values are included in the studies.

(With inputs from Agencies)

( This post is from an independent writer. The opinions and views expressed herein are those of the author and are not endorsed by APakistanNews.Com.)

Prince Charles and wife Camilla visit Temple

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