From sweets to diyas, the inauguration of Ram Mandir heralds ‘second Diwali’
Cutouts of Lord Ram, saffron Jai Shri Ram flags, posters, banners, scenes and processions – the pran pratishtha or consecration at Ram Mandir in Ayodhya resonated with enthusiasm in many parts of the country.
About 136 kilometers from Ayodhya, in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, fireworks were set off at the time of the consecration of Ram Lalla’s idol. At the prominent markets of Patrakarpuram, Hazratganj, Aminabad and Jankipuram, traders distributed sweets. And preparations for lighting diyas in the evening were in full swing.
“It is like a second Diwali for us and we will light diyas in the evening,” said Vinay Tiwari, a resident of Aminabad.
The main thoroughfares, public places, markets and private buildings were decorated with large cutouts of Lord Ram, Ram flags, posters, banners, etc., depicting the frenzy around Ram Mandir.
Bhandaras (community kitchens) had been organized in Lucknow and other cities to mark the celebration, said Sanjay Gupta, president of Adarsh Vyapar Mandal trade association in Uttar Pradesh.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets actors Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan and other guests
Giant laddoo and more, in Delhi
At the Hanuman Temple in Connaught Place, the day started with a puja and Sundarkand. A screen was placed in the temple courtyard broadcasting the ceremony live from Ayodhya, attracting large crowds.
According to the priests, by 12 noon, more than 100,000 people had visited the temple, far exceeding the daily rush of 5,000 devotees.
Connaught Place, the capital’s largest open-air market, was decorated with Jai Shri Ram flags; the Inner Circle also hosted a big screen livestream dedication in Ayodhya.
The New Delhi Traders’ Association’s plan to hold a light and sound show was canceled, but the association lit more than 100,000 diyas to commemorate the event. A laddoo weighing 11 kilograms was also offered to the deity at the market.
At the nearby Khan Market, Monday morning started with a puja at the Gopal temple in the market, followed by a rathyatra with the deity’s idol.
Under the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), which represents around 70 million traders, several business organizations have initiated various schemes.
CAIT’s National General Secretary Praveen Khandelwal said several Shri Ram programs would take place in Delhi markets on Monday – from chanting of Sundarkand to singing of Hanuman Chalisa, bhandaras and live display from Ayodhya.
Across the country, 10,000 LED screens, recitations of Sundarkand, Hanuman Chalisa and kirtans at 50,000 locations, 10,000 musical events of Shri Ram songs and bhajans with 5,000 processions and 25,000 bhandaras were organized by traders.
Markets largely closed, Mumbai celebrates
Mumbaikars dressed in saffron, white and red gathered at Shivaji Park in Dadar amid the much-awaited pran pratishtha ceremony in Ayodhya.
Young men and women, riding bicycles decorated with saffron flags, led several processions through the park. They followed the replica of the Ram temple, which was placed on a truck.
A majority of visitors here said they were there to see the two-dimensional illuminated replica of the temple, illuminated with neon purple, green, blue and saffron lights.
Around Dadar, there were huge posters and cutouts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Lord Ram on the roads. Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde also found a mention at the bottom of these posters.
More than 70 percent of Mumbai’s markets were open on Monday, but only to celebrate the inauguration of Ram Mandir.
“Many markets in Mumbai screened the event live and lit up diyas,” said Shankar Thakkar, General Secretary, CAIT, Maharashtra Chapter. He added that the APMC market in Navi Mumbai also broadcast the consecration ceremony of Ram Mandir live.
Ram Mandir and a meeting in Calcutta
The Ram Mandir on Central Avenue in Kolkata, established in 1941, was the center of attention on Monday. Hemant Jalan, trustee of Seth Soorajmull Jalan Trust, which manages the Ram Mandir, said there were bhajans in the morning, followed by a live telecast of the consecration ceremony in Ayodhya. “Then we had an aarti, and prasad was distributed to the devotees.”
West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose was also there and flagged off a ‘Ramayana Yatra’.
Outside Ram Mandir, the celebration was in full swing with processions, scenes and chants of Jai Shri Ram, supported by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders.
BJP MLA and Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Suvendu Adhikari led a sanatani-shobha yatra from Baikunth Nath Temple to Ram Mandir to ‘honor the homecoming of Lord Ram’ at Ayodhya Dham.
While the first half of the day was dominated by festivities around Ram Mandir, after 3 pm Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee’s harmony rally took center stage. Banerjee offered prayers at the Kalighat Temple in South Kolkata and inaugurated the gathering from Hazra Park. She stopped at a church and a mosque and took a scooter ride to a gurdwara.
About 4,000 police officers were stationed for security on Monday. However, tension prevailed briefly at Jadavpur University during the live screening of the Ayodhya ceremony by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad students.
Strings of pearls to political drama in southern states
Telangana and Andhra Pradesh sent a long list of gifts for the ceremony in Ayodhya, which included a pearl garland from a Hyderabad-based jeweler, 100,000 laddoos from the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams Trust Board and 118 wooden doors for the temple. However, celebrations in the United States took place around pujas in temples.
In Tamil Nadu, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was supposed to watch the live telecast but state authorities denied permission for installation of LED screens. However, on Monday, the Supreme Court granted permission and Sitharaman watched the ceremony from Kanchipuram.
Though Karnataka had not declared a public holiday, the temples received a government directive to perform a special puja on January 22 to mark the consecration of the Ram idol in Ayodhya. The Associated Management of Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka also advised private schools in the state to make arrangements for live telecast of the initiation ceremony instead of declaring a holiday.
In Kerala, Hindu organizations’ celebrations focused on temples with live broadcasts of the event. Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and BJP leaders in the state visited several temples.
(Virendra Singh Rawat, Akshara Srivastava, Ajinkya Kawale, Sharleen D’Souza, Ishita Ayan Dutt, Peerzada Abrar, Shine Jacob, Ayushman Baruah contributed to the story)