A South Indian Big Lunch in The Hindu Temple of Scotland

August 6, 2012

Author: Emma

Srihari, one of the organisers of The Big Jubilee Lunch at The Hindu Temple of Scotland in Glasgow, shares his experience and what was happening on the day…

We come from India and at The Hindu Temple of Scotland, The South Indian Cultural Centre endeavours to preserve South Indian Culture and Tradition. We wanted to celebrate The Diamond Jubilee following the norms of South Indian culture and were looking for ideas to make the celebration truly memorable. We then heard of the ethos behind The Big Jubilee Lunch and instantly wanted to adopt that into our celebrations.

The South Indian Cultural Centre is very proud to move into Rutherglen – an area with vast diversity. Our neighbours have welcomed us and made us feel an important part of the community. We wanted to thank them by making Rutherglen part of the worldwide celebration and The Big Jubilee Lunch gave us the perfect opportunity to open our doors. People from various backgrounds would join us, make friends and strengthen ties. This was the hope which lead us to take part in The Big Lunch 2012.

The celebration was an open event which involved music, dance and, of course, food. Hindu culture and tradition is an integral part of any South Indian celebration, hence a very special service was performed to begin the event. Our guests were then served an authentic vegetarian South Indian Big Lunch and had the chance to get to know each other over their meals. Entertainment followed with acts showcasing Scottish and South Indian culture, with talented local young people being given the opportunity to perform.

The ideas on The Big Lunch website gave us some inspiration. For example, we decorated the Temple steps with floor art and also decided to use the opportunity to raise funds for The Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice, collecting over £200.

On the day, a good mix of various communities joined us for the Big Jubilee Lunch. There were people from Mauritius, Africa, India and from across Scotland. The Lord Lieutenant of Lanarkshire could even fit us into his busy schedule attending events around Lanarkshire, representing the Queen. We welcomed both old and new guests into the Temple and the atmosphere we managed to create hopefully encouraged people to get to know each other well. We will be looking forward to being part of The Big Lunch next year!”