Prince Charles and his wife Camilla visit Swaminarayan Temple

H S Rao

London, Mar 5 (PTI) Prince Charles, accompanied by his
wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, has visited the BAPS
Shri Swaminarayan Mandir and a school attached to the temple
here to celebrate the festival of Holi.

The Royal couple visited the Mandir Wednesday evening
to pay their respects to the deities and were greeted by the
Deputy Lord Lieutenant Mei Sim Lai and the Mayor of Brent,
Councillor Ralph Fox and Jitu Patel, chair of the Board of
Trustees.

The head sadhu of the Mandir, Yogvivek Swami, welcomed
Prince Charles in the traditional manner before garlanding
him. Senior ladies of the Women's Wing welcomed his wife.

Prince Charles then proceeded to the sanctum, escorted
by Swami and Jitu Patel, where he offered flower petals at the
central shrine. The Duchess led by Pooja Patel, National
Coordinator of Youth Activities for the Women's Wing, also
offered flower petals at the central shrine.

The couple stayed there for few minutes admiring the
beautiful intricate architecture of the Mandir.

Subsequently, they walked through the ceremonial
gates of the Mandir to the school, where the head teacher
Savjani, the Chair of Governors, Piyush Amin and others were
introduced to the Royal couple.

Prince Charles also visited the Performing Arts
classroom to hear traditional Indian musical instruments being
played. He also tried his hand at a small Indian drum. Then he
visited a Prep School classroom and interacted with children.

Besides witnessing the Holi-based art exhibits, he
visited the school gym and witnessed the children playing
Holi, spraying each other with water. The pupils were showered
with flower petals by Prince Charles and Camilla as a symbolic
gesture of their having taken part in the festival.

They was presented with mementos by the Head Girl and
Head Boy of the Senior School before bidding farewell.

Savjani said: "it was so wonderful and an honour to
have Prince Charles and The Duchess of Cornwall at the school
to celebrate the Holi festival.

"The Royals enjoyed every bit of the visit, especially
the music and dance. They were impressed by the School's
exceptional performance in the results' league tables in
recent years."

Piyush Amin said Prince Charles was impressed by the
way in which culture and values are included in the studies.
PTI