Diwali and Hindu New Year Celebration

The North Circular’s answer to the Taj Mahal, BAPSShri Swaminarayan Mandir is a gloriously ornate Hindu temple. It’s an astounding sight at anytime year, but in October it’s even more beautiful as it hosts the largest Diwali and Hindu New Year celebrations in the country. During the Festival of Lights, it fills up with row upon row of flickering oil lamps called ‘deepa’. And it’s not just a pretty sight - the lights have a spatial significance, too, symbolising the victory of light over darkness and good over evil. See the twinkling main hall when it’s open all day on October 27 for religious ceremonies and rituals before a sparkling barrage of fireworks brings the day to a close with a bang.