On a peaceful beach in Normans Bay, near Brighton, Sheila Jacklin, a 61-year-old British Telugu designer, used to perform her Hindu prayers every day. Born to parents from Andhra Pradesh, she had been praying on the beach for 22 years, chanting Sanskrit mantras and using mudra gestures. With no temple nearby, it was her way of staying connected to her faith. However, things changed in 2014 when new neighbors, Stephane Duckett and his American partner, Norinne Betjemann, moved into the house next to Sheila’s.
The couple, who had converted a nearby workshop into their second home, didn’t like Sheila’s prayers. They claimed her mudra hand gestures were offensive, even saying that one, the Aakash mudra, looked like a rude V-sign. Over the years, they made nearly 100 complaints to the police, accusing Sheila and her husband, Nigel Jacklin, a 62-year-old statistician, of harassment.
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