IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Ransom Road, COVENTRY, CV6 5LH

View from Foleshill Road (B4113).

Foleshill Road is a significant arterial route north from Coventry city centre.

The 2021 Diwali procession in Coventry makes its way up Foleshill Road. A participant carries a Freedom placard, referring to the liberation of Sita from captivity to the demon king Ravana, a story told in the great Hindu epic The Ramayana and remembered at Diwali, the festival of lights (for a brief introduction, see here https://asiasociety.org/education/ramayana ). Diwali signifies "peace and joy, the victory of good over evil, and light over darkness every day" according the Hindustan Times https://www.hindustantimes.com/lifestyle/festivals/diwali-2021-significance-history-date-time-puja-muhurat-and-all-you-need-to-know-101635849456204.html . It is celebrated on the 15th day of the Kartik month in the Hindu lunar calendar, which in 2021 fell on the 4th November. Sikhs, Jains and Ravidassias as well as Hindus mark Diwali, or Deepavali as it is also known. The Coventry procession took place in Foleshill three days later. There was a palpable sense of joy that the community could come together again in this way after the restrictions of the coronavirus pandemic - another sense in which freedom was being celebrated. The event was named 'Abundance' and formed part of the 2021 UK City of Culture celebrations; it combined traditional and contemporary elements, with drummers, dancers, street-performers and lantern-bearers. In the background of this photo can be seen the illuminated umbrellas of Cirque Bijou.

The Kurdistan Tandoori Naan takeaway on Foleshill Road has, on its side wall, a ghost sign for Spratt's Dog Food, the Spratt's name forming its distinctive terrier shape. Wikipedia tells us that Spratt's was founded in London around 1860 by the American James Spratt, and that the company pioneered hoarding or billboard advertisements in Britain and was one of the most heavily advertised brands in the early 20th century https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spratt's .

This place of worship is called Jagat Guru Valmik Ji Maharaj Temple and is dedicated to the sage and poet Valmiki, author of the Ramayana, the epic which tells of Prince Rama liberating Princess Sita from the demon-king Ravana. It occupies a former parcel sorting office which was bought by the Valmiki community in 1978; one of their members worked for Royal Mail. A community centre, which is used as a langar hall for serving food, was added ten years later. The Valmikis, like the Ravidassia community Image], have a long history of struggling against caste prejudice and oppression. Both communities combine elements of Sikh and Hindu tradition. The first members of the Valmiki community came to Coventry from northern India in the 1950s. More followed in the 1960s, many from Kenya, which they were forced to leave after the country became independent of Britain. The temple website gives a history of the community in Coventry http://mvscoventry.org.uk/?page_id=74633.

The community centre sits on the Foleshill Road and is well used by the local population.

The sign outside advertises a social supermarket which opened in the centre in 2020, selling donated food at a very low price to members on low incomes. https://www.coventry.ac.uk/news/2020/social-supermarket/ 'Everybody needs beauty as well as bread' is a quotation from the Scottish-American naturalist John Muir https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2019-3-may-june/editor/everybody-needs-beauty (cf. 'bread for all, and roses too' from the US women's suffrage campaigner Helen Todd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_and_Roses )