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Dr S. Jaishankar Celebrates Diwali with British Hindus at Neasden Temple, London, UK

12 Nov 2023

Head of Neasden Temple, Swami Yogvivekdas, greeted Dr Jaishankar, the Minister of External Affairs for India, in the traditional Hindu manner

Dr Jaishankar enjoyed meeting several of the trustees and volunteers before proceeding on a brief tour of the Mandir

Dr Jaishankar and his wife enjoyed darshan of the sacred images in the upper sanctum of the Mandir

Dr Jaishankar and his wife performed the abhishek of Shri Nilkanth Varni Maharaj

Dr Jaishankar offered his pranams to Sadguru Pujya Tyagvallabhdas Swami upon arriving in the main assembly

Mrs Kyoko Jaishankar was also warmly welcomed in the assembly with a flower garland

Yogvivekdas Swami formally welcomed Dr Jaishankar to the Mandir, and prayed, “May the ‘living bridge’ between Great Britain and Great Bharat grow and glow from strength to strength”

Dr Jaishankar addressed the assembly with words of appreciation and inspiration

The Minister of External Affairs for India said, “I am blessed that I am with you here today. There is no higher joy than being among family at times of celebration.”

Dr Jaishankar added, “The Indian community abroad is our real strength, so once again, I thank you all for everything that you do every day.”

Tyagvallabhdas Swami presented an Amrut Kalash to Dr Jaishankar on behalf of the BAPS Swaminarayan Hindu fellowship

Dr Jaishankar stopped to meet and converse with the swamis in attendance

Dr Jaishankar later posted about his visit on X (formerly Twitter) in English...

...as well as in Gujarati

He also posted about his visit on Instagram and other social media platforms