On 11th October, the Bhavan in Kensington, London opened the Indian festive season with a spellbinding talk on better understanding India’s Gods, Goddesses and festivals by Dr. Priya Virmani. It was a sell-out event where Priya, a renowned proponent of Vedic philosophy, looked beyond the stories of the Gods and Goddesses we are familiar with including Brahma, Krishna, Shiva, Durga and Rama to understand their significance and how we can apply this learning to our everyday lives. Renowned Odissi dancer Katrina Rute, flautist Gaurav Uniyal and tabaljee Soumyaraj Das gave dimension to Priya’s voice and verse with their captivating renditions which enthralled the audience.
The evening opened with the serenity of mantra chants and lamp lighting by Lord Karan Bilimoria. In his opening speech, he spoke about festivals conjuring memories of his parents and shared anecdotes from his meetings with the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the mystic Sadhguru. Together with MP Virendra Sharma, Lord Bilimoria was welcomed by Dr. Priya Virmani and felicitated by Dr. Nanda, Director of the Bhavan. They were also joined on stage by two inspirational, world record making Indian cyclists – the mother son duo - Gouri Mishra and Rian Kumar.
A little girl in the audience wanted to know if all Indian Gods had a message. Priya explained just as each one of us has various moods so Indian Gods and Goddesses come with myriad messages to help us manage our different moods.
Priya imparted a new understanding of, and perspective to, the key festivals of Navratri leading to Dussehra and Diwali.
Food for the evening was especially curated by Michelin star and celebrity Indian chef Atul Kochhar and the team at his restaurant, Kanishka in Mayfair. The audience were treated to vegetarian fare with Jain and vegan options.
Virendra Sharma MP, brought the evening to a close with his talk on the seminal importance of contributing to our communities as he extended unwavering support for Priya’s work to make ancient Indian spirituality a GPRS for a happier life, accessible to all and relevant to current times.
