Swindon residents have been invited to an important Hindu festival on the evening of Sunday 14th February.
The Swindon Puja Committee has organized the third annual Hindu festival this Sunday to celebrate Saraswati Puja, an event devoted to the goddess Saraswati, at the Punjabi Community Centre, off of Cricklade Road. Last year’s event had more than 400 people attend and was deemed an overwhelming success.
The religious element of the festival starts at 10am and will be formally opened by civic dignitaries. The festival’s cultural program starts at 5.30pm and will be open to all residents. The cultural program will include performances from local acts and artists and will include traditional food and drink for everybody.
People of all religions have been invited to this event and the purpose of the festival is one of unity and religious tolerance. Members of other religious groups will also be speaking at this event.
The event is free to attend and there will be a raffle to win an LED television and a computer.
Councillor Derique Montaut is a member of the Saraswati Puja Festival Organising Committee. He said:
“The success of the last three years has given the Hindu community a lot of love. The organising committee is delighted to invite people to this year’s puja (festival) with the hope of receiving the same warm response from everyone around.
The festival is taking place during troubled times in the world and the message we want to get across is that of unification and religious tolerance. We want to promote a Swindon culture embracing multi-culturalism, with different ethnic and religious groups coming together with the aim of making the town a better place.
The Hindus play an important part in our town’s community and I really welcome their embracing of other religious groups and its very much a multi-faith festival.
We will not charge anything for food or an entrance fee. Any donations will be highly accepted for our festival.”