Against the backdrop of paintings of Kapil Dev and Dilip Vengsarkar (above) & charcoal sketches of Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar, the Indian management consultancy firm of Grant Thornton chose a historic location for its annual Diwali party (top) — the Long Room at Lord’s. This is the first time anyone can remember a Diwali party being held in the Long Room, which was built in 1889 and which generations of cricketers have transited on their way to and from the pitch. Until 1998 women — with the exception of the late Queen Elizabeth II — were not allowed to enter the Long Room which was the exclusive preserve of upper class English men. Indians who attended the Diwali party on Wednesday night were amused by the English sense of humour evident in the Gentlemen’s lavatory where the wrong exit was marked “NOT OUT” and the correct one, “OUT”. The images of the Indian greats were mingled with those of other legends such as WG Grace, Colin Cowdrey — instrumental in building the Indoor Cricket School at Lord’s, Richie Benaud and Brian Lara. In welcoming guests on behalf of the hosts, Akshay Bhalla, a senior partner, managed to combine the spirit of Diwali with that of cricket. Remembering the “countless moments of cricketing brilliance” at the ‘Home of Cricket’, Bhalla also urged people “not to forget Sourav Ganguly taking his shirt off at the visitors’ balcony after India beat England in the NatWest series in 2002, symbolising the team’s newfound confidence and aggression which we are so used to seeing today. 2025 is lndia’s year at Lords with the much awaited mid-summer Test match against England.”