We had a fantastic afternoon and evening covering two events in Westminster last week.

First up we covered photography at Portcullis House at ‘Raksha Bandhan’ celebrations hosted by All Party Parliamentary Group of British Hindus.

This event was attended by various politicians, including Bob Blackman MP, Virendra Sharma MP, Gavin Barwell MP, Shailesh Vara MP and Deputy High Commissioner of India Dr Virendra Paul. An introduction was given by Janhavi Dadakar of MLS Chase LLP who welcomed the guests, followed by welcome by Bob Blackman MP. Ms Manu Khajuria then spoke on the cultural origins of the Raksha Bandhan festival and Mr Dhruv Chhatralia spoke about the practice of such festivals can bring people together.

We then headed down to stunning Committee rooms in The House of Commons. Vichaar Manthan (a Leicester based initiative) were conducting their inaugural London based discussion, based on the relevance of the ‘Welfare State’. The event was attended by over 100 guests. Professor Satish Modh – from Mumbai (via video link), Dr. Sachin Nandha and Bob Blackman, Member of Parliament for Harrow East were invited to discuss the Welfare State and also consider thoughts and opinions of the guests. Introduction and welcome was given by Prashanth Kesara. The discussion was chaired by London based Lawyer, Kishan Bhatt.

All in all, a very interesting day of photography with lots to take away.