People braved London’s rain and bad weather to gather at Trafalgar Square for London Mayor’s official Diwali celebration on Sunday 29 October. The event opened with 200 colourfully dressed dancers followed by an exciting mix of performances from artists drawn from London’s Hindu, Sikh and Jain communities.
There was host of market stalls and activities to enjoy, including dance workshops, yoga and meditation, Ramayana Puppet shows, Soho Theatre comedy, and the Glimpse of Goddesses stall where visitors could find out more about Hindu goddesses, sari and turban tying.
This year there was also a series of dance performances presented by 'Kalasetu,' a collaborative project between Subrang Arts and Kinetika commissioned on behalf of This is Croydon, the Mayor's London Borough of Culture 2023.
An array of South Asian food stalls served delicious traditional and fusion, vegan and vegetarian cuisine.
Mayor Sadiq Khan reportedly said the Diwali celebrations across London over the coming few weeks would be the biggest outside of India. Describing Sunday's festival he called it as "an amazing day".
Doctors join Diwali at Trafalgar Square
Doctors from St George's joined the team from Health Protection Agency, NHS England, BAPIO Research and South Asian Health Action at the Health Awareness Tent in the London Mayor's Diwali Celebrations at Trafalgar Square on Sunday 29 October.It was a great opportunity to bring the message of health awareness and promoting healthy living to people joining the celebrations in London. Dr Padmini Parathasarthy (GP), Dr Sana Mallick (Medicine) and Professor Indranil Chakravorty MBE (Acute Medicine) were among the team from St George's joining Priyanka Tamang (Public Health NHSE) and Kirit Mistry from SAHA. Through conversations with hundreds of people of all age groups who thronged the Square, the team were able to check health status, screen for hypertension, and promote healthy eating, regular exercise and lifestyle choices.
