About 250 people from the local community came together on Sunday 18 November at Shaftesbury Community Centre to experience the vibrant sounds, flavours and colours of Diwali – ‘the Festival of Light’ – and the Hindu New Year. It was one of the largest devotional celebrations in Nothern Ireland.
The Diwali festivities included the annakut – ‘a mountain of food’ consisting of more than 200 dishes of freshly prepared by devotees – that was artistically arranged as a devotional offering of the first meal of the New Year made in thanksgiving to God.
To add to the festive experience, visitors enjoyed delicious vegetarian sweet and savoury snacks and various souvenirs.
Distinguished guests included Stephen Gamble, Housing Executive Office, and his daughter