Police join festival marking Diwali celebrations at Hindu temple in Luton
Members of Luton Community Policing Team joined celebrations to mark Diwali and Hindu New Year this week.
Hosted by the Luton Hindu temple, BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, in Crescent Road, the festival offered an opportunity to experience the vibrant sounds, flavours, and colours of Diwali – the Hindu ‘Festival of Light’ – and Hindu New Year.
It also provided an opportunity for members of the Hindu community to find out more about policing in their area and for visitors to share the annakut – ‘a mountain of food’ consisting of hundreds of freshly prepared dishes, artistically arranged as a devotional offering of the first meal of the New Year made in thanksgiving to God. The sanctified food was later distributed among volunteers and worshippers in keeping with the community spirit of Diwali.
A spokesperson for the Community Policing Team said in a post on the group’s Fecebook page: “It was lovely to have been invited to take part and support the Diwali and #HinduNewYear celebrations this week at #BAPSLuton.
“A particular highlight this year was meeting two lovely families and their children with an opportunity to talk about policing, shared values and working together and even potential future careers. We might see the little ones in a few years.
“It was great to see the amazing celebrations and a community and its volunteers coming together for an enlightening festival. It was also a lovely way to engage with the community and learn about their culture.
“Thank you Friends of BAPS Luton for inviting us and letting us be part of something so beautiful.”