Neasden Temple wins award for Gujarati teaching
The Hindu temple has been honoured for its teaching - Credit: BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha
Neasden Temple has received an award for its standout teaching of the Gujarati language.
BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, the place of Hindu worship in Brentfield Road, picked up the Threlford Memorial Cup 2020 by the Chartered Institute of Linguists.
The award recognises the contribution to the development of tools, resources and training to promote the learning of the Gujarati language and the celebration of cultural understanding.
Rahul, who collected the award on behalf of fellow volunteers, said: “Gujarati is an integral component of our services for children at BAPS.
“It is inspired by Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s teaching that ‘Bhāshā jashe to sanskār jashe’ – ‘If language is lost, culture is lost.’
A Gujarati lesson in the classroom - Credit: BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha
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“We thus endeavour to ensure that our children have the highest standard of resources available to help them learn Gujarati in the most effective and enjoyable way, thereby facilitating their all-round cultural, academic and spiritual development as part of our service to the community.”
The accolade follows similar teaching and language awards for Neasden Temple in previous years.
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This year’s gong recognises how volunteers have developed the understanding of the language through a range of physical and digital resources for students.
These resources include a GCSE level Gujarati syllabus, board games and alphabet boards – all of which have combined modern education techniques with traditional Hindu values to provide a system of ‘gammat sāthe gnān’ or ‘knowledge through enjoyment’.
Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language that has evolved from Sanskrit. It is the official language for the state of Gujarat on the west coast of India, and it is used by communities in the UK.
BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) – of which Neasden is temple – is an international, community-based Hindu organisation affiliated to the United Nations.
It cares for individuals, families and societies and it has more than one million members, 55,000 volunteers and 3,850 centres.
Kids playing and learning - Credit: Swaminarayan Sanstha
