INDIA: British royals, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, attend a Hindu prayer ceremony on the banks of the Ganges on the first day of their nine-day visit to India

Record ID: 1371981

  • Title: INDIA: British royals, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, attend a Hindu prayer ceremony on the banks of the Ganges on the first day of their nine-day visit to India
  • Date: 6th November 2013
  • Summary: RISHIKESH, UTTARAKHAND, INDIA (NOVEMBER 6, 2013) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (ANI-NO ACCESS BBC) **CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY** VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WAITING FOR THE ROYAL COUPLE TO ARRIVE AT THE TEMPLE ON THE BANK OF RIVER GANGES A BANNER CARRYING THE PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE PRINCE OF WALES (PRINCE CHARLES) AND THE DUCHESS OF CORNWALL (CAMILLA)
  • Embargoed: 21st November 2013 19:53
  • Keywords:
  • Location: India
  • Country: India
  • Topics: International Relations,Arts / Culture / Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA437OTLHB5MF62CV9Y6C8QWL
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: Britain's Prince of Wales and his wife the Duchess of Cornwall began their visit to India on Wednesday (November 6) with a Hindu prayer ceremony on the banks of the river Ganges in the northern holy town of Rishikesh, ravaged by heavy rains and floods earlier this year.
    The royal couple will spend nine days in India before travelling on to Sri Lanka to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Colombo.
    This is their third official visit to India. The trip is aimed at strengthening bilateral ties between London and New Delhi.
    Wearing a long-sleeved turquoise dress, Duchess Camilla, along with Prince Charles in a grey suit, performed Hindu rituals at a temple in Parmarth Niketan, which is the largest ashram in Rishikesh.
    After sunset, the couple participated in a divine light ceremony better known as the 'Ganga Aarti' in Rishikesh, which was filled with devotional songs and hymns in Sanskrit language.
    The ceremony is performed daily and attracts thousands of tourists from around the world.
    Earlier the prayer used to be held beneath a 14ft-high statue of the Hindu God, Shiva, before it was destroyed by the flash floods in the region.
    During the ceremony, Prince Charles expressed his concern for the families in Uttarakhand who had their homes and businesses destroyed or farmlands washed away due to the massive flash floods in June.

    "But we also wanted just to stress how deeply we felt for all those people who suffered so dreadfully as a result of the awful floods in June and our thoughts and prayers were so much with all those families, who have had to suffer the appalling catastrophe," he said.
    The lives of two million people, one-fifth of Uttarakhand's population, have been disrupted by the devastation.
    The disaster, which was dubbed the "Himalayan tsunami" due to the torrent of water unleashed by burgeoning rivers and glacial lakes, left almost 6,000 people missing, who have now been presumed dead.
    Prince Charles went on to say that humans must rediscover their connections with nature.

    "It seems to me that the key to our future is to rediscover our connections with nature, for too long we seem to have ignored the services that nature provides us. Not only that but we sometimes forget,that we are nature ourselves, we are an intimate part of it, not separate."
    Prince Charles and Camilla will also visit New Delhi, Pune, Mumbai and Kochi to meet top political and business leaders.
    Their trip also includes a visit to one of the world's largest Hindu temples in New Delhi, and to one of the oldest synagogues in the Commonwealth at southern city of Kochi.
    The couple will also observe Remembrance Sunday in India and celebrate the future King's 65th birthday on November 14.
  • Copyright Holder: ANI (India)
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