Happy Diwali in The Long Room

Last night Kate & I were honoured to be guests at the first Diwali celebration to take place in the Long Room at Lords.

It truly was the most magnificent occasion.

Thank you & congratulations to the team at the ECB who made it happen, including a longtime friend of Fearless Women, Shruti Saujani

Aside from witnessing wonderful dancing, music, storytelling & traditional prayers (& enjoying a delicious meal), what made the night even more special, was the opportunity to learn about another religion in such a joyous, non-judgemental environment.

I loved hearing speakers share their personal experiences of what Diwali means to them & was particularly moved by Kate Miller’s reflections on the night, as she addressed the elephant in the room.

Here’s an excerpt of what she so eloquently said:

“Some of you might be wondering why we’re hosting this celebration tonight. Is it box ticking? Is it a knee jerk response to the issues that cricket is facing around race, ethnicity & faith?

For me it’s something much more than that. For starters it’s been driven by Hindu colleagues inside the ECB. People who generously, willingly & proudly wanted to share the beauty & colour of Diwali with others.

But also, something bigger.

In my mind there is no doubt that the future prosperity of cricket surrounds combining the beauty of the new & the old. Some of the many traditions of cricket are what we all hold dear about the sport. But these can be cherished & preserved in new forms.

They can be about a club captain changing the times of their practice schedules to suit Ramadan fasts & prayer.

They can be about thinking beyond the majority religious norms of Christmas & Easter.

They can be about adding barfi sweets to a cricket tea to transcend the standard fare of a staunchly British cheese & pickle sandwich.

Or it can be about coming along to an event like this, learning a little more about the beauty of another person’s religion, over a shared meal with a new friend.”

Thank you so much for enabling us to learn and to to be part of such a memorable occasion.

Happy Diwali to everyone for next week.