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In 2000, Guinness World Records recognised the Annakut offering at the Mandir in London as the largest offering of vegetarian dishes in the world. |
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| Volunteers |
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- BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha is a volunteer-based organisation. Over 1,300 volunteers serve in 49 departments to ensure we provide an enriching experience for all our visitors.
- The first volunteers arrive on duty on the day of Annakut as early as 4.00am.
- Some volunteers travel in from as far off as Leicester.
- The oldest volunteer is Ambalalkaka (age 96) – still serving enthusiastically in the Baggage Cabin.
- One of our longest serving volunteers is Suryakantbhai, presently serving as a visitor guide. He has been serving for over 45 years.
- Over 100 young children (aged 13-14) volunteer to look after the Shoe Racks.
- At any one time, the Shoe Racks can cater for 6,500 pairs of shoes.
- Over the last 8 years, not a single pair of shoes has been lost!
- The Metropolitan Police assist BAPS volunteers every year.
- Shuttle services are provided by Transport for London and BAPS volunteers over the two days.
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| Annakut |
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- If all the plates and bowls used in the Annakut offering are laid side by side, the continuous line would stretch approximately 1,415 ft (431m). That’s more than 4 times the length of the pitch at the new Wembley Stadium!
- Thousands of boxes are filled with various items of prasad (sanctified food) for distribution among all the visitors. The raw material for this weighs over 9.5 tonnes.
- Over 5.1 tonnes of chevdo has been produced for the prasad boxes. It took 10 hours to make and mix, and 55 volunteers were involved in the production.
- This year’s grand offering included an extensive variety of items. For example, there will be:
- 311 different types of sweets, including:
- 129 types of traditional Indian sweets (mithai)
- 133 types of milk sweets (dudhni mithai)
- 24 varieties of shiro
- 25 varieties of chikki
- 253 varieties of savoury fried snacks, including:
- 180 varieties of traditional Indian snacks (farsan)
- 42 varieties of other fried snacks (shekavani)
- 31 varieties of crisps and wafers
- 120 varieties of curry (shak-bhaji)
- 67 types of rice and pulses
- 84 varieties of pickles and chutneys
- 80 unique bakery items, including breads, cakes, pastries and vegetable pasties
- 131 varieties of juices and milk shakes
- 85 different fresh fruits, dry fruits and nuts
- 29 varieties of salads
- 56 flavours of ice cream
- 32 varieties of mukhvas (an after-meal Indian mouth refreshener)
- All parts of India will be represented, with items from Bengal, Gujarat, Rajasthan, North India and South India, and also 120 Punjabi items.
- There will also be over 160 items which are Chinese, English, Greek, Italian, Mexican, and from other parts of the world, such as East Africa and the Middle East.
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| Shayona |
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- Pau Bhaji, Chole Puri and Chat are the most popular items in the Shayona Food Marquee
- Throughout the day, visitors are expected to consumed around:
- 1 tonne of Pau Bhaji
- 1 tonne of Chole Puri
- 20,000 samosas
- Over 5,000 pizzas
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