As the vibrant and joyous festival of Diwali approaches, volunteers at the Baps Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Manor Gardens, Durban, are pouring their hearts into a labour of love, preparing an exquisite array of traditional sweetmeats and savouries.
From sunrise to sunset, enthusiastic community members engage in seva – work offered to God – in creating a plethora of delectable treats such as burfi, chana magaj, penda, laddoo, coconut curls, date roll, gulab jamun, ghari and biscuits.
Savoury snacks include chevda, methi puri, ganthya, samoosas, kachoris and patha rolls.
Hari Patel, trustee of the Baps Swaminarayan Hindu Mission, said every year they had to increase their production because they attracted new customers who looked for pure vegetarian designer confections.
“We have also doubled the quantity of some of the…
