‘Cheerful event’ to celebrate new year
Music, dancing and procession for Hindu festival
An Indian cultural roadshow brought festive cheer to Slough High Street to celebrate the Hindu lunar new year.
Nearly 300 people joined the hosts, Slough Mitra Mandal, to mark the occasion at the weekend with a colourful procession in the town centre.
The festival, which takes place on April 9, is known by different names in certain regions of the Indian subcontinent including Gudi Padwa and Ugadi.
One organiser, Adhish Desai, said: “It was a very cheerful atmosphere because it’s the new year for some of the religious communities in India.
“It was overall a very happy and cheerful event where a lot of Hindus came together to celebrate.
“Everyone came in traditional Indian attire and participated in the music and dancing.”
The roadshow on Saturday kicked off at HSBC bank on Slough High Street with rhythmic Indian drums played by the London-based troop, Dhol Beats, comprising 15 players.
More than 150 dressed in traditional Indian attire performed in a typical procession-style dance holding gudis and orange flags.
A gudi is a bamboo or wooden pole covered in colourful cloth, garlands, and neem leaves, with a decorative pot or 'kalash' on top.
It is typically hoisted outside homes on Gudi Padwa and represents prosperity, success, and the triumph of good over evil.
The 90-minute procession moved towards the Observatory and was followed by an hour of performances by children opposite Primark inside the shopping centre.
About 25 kids performed live songs and entertaining dances with religious and popular Bollywood backing tracks.
Slough Mitra Mandal thanked their sponsors Melwani Finance Ltd and CredNRI for their support of the free event and Swagath, for providing light snacks including samosas and aloo tikki.
Slough Mitra Mandal also thanked Slough Borough Council and Slough BID for supporting the event in its tenth year and the Observatory team and the Visual Art Gallery team for the smooth running of the event.