Colour splashed across Neasden as the Hindu festival of Spring and vitality was celebrated to see the coming of the year.

Hundreds of devotees attended The Holi Festival, at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, in Brentfield Road last week, to pay their respects to the murtis, or sacred gods, which were adorned with vibrant colours to mark the occasion.

The Holi Festival is the most colourful event in the Hindu calendar. It welcomes the onset of spring and is popularly known as the festival of colour.

It is connected to different Indian legends and their symbolic messages.

A large bonfire was lit where newly harvested grains were offered to the fire deity.

Tarun Patel, Mandir volunteer, said: “At the BAPS mandir, in keeping with this ancient custom of offering a part of the newly harvested grains, hundreds of devotees came and offered grains and placed coconuts into a bonfire lit in the open grounds of The Swaminarayan School. The festival was enjoyed by the community and people of all faiths.”

Popularly known as the Neasden Temple, the Mandir is a traditional place of vibrant Hindu worship.