THE New Year will be significant as Ram Lalla will be seated in the sanctum sanctorum of the Ram temple in Ayodhya and the general elections will be held, and both will be “shubh (propitious)”, the Ram temple’s chief priest Acharya Satyendra Das said. The octogenarian praised the development work happening in Ayodhya. “Not just peace, ‘Ram Rajya’ is coming. Ram Lalla will be seated in the sanctum sanctorum,” he said and quoted a couplet -- “Ram Raj baithe trialoka, harshit bhai, gaye sab shoka”. “Grief, pain, tension, will cease to exist and everyone will be happy,” he said.“Ram Rajya” is a term used to refer to an ideal governance where everyone is happy. “My greetings and blessings to all countrymen on New Year. Ram Lalla will be offered ‘Chhapan Bhog’, and ‘prasad’ will be offered,” he said, shortly before heading for the Ramjanmabhoomi temple site to perform the ‘aarti’.As per the customs, ‘Bhog aarti’ is performed at noon. A ‘Chappan Bhog’ is offered to Ram Lalla on special occasions such as Holi, Ramnavmi, Basant Panchami, New Year, and Independence and Republic Day, his side said. “So, the New Year will be very good,” said the Ram temple’s chief priest.

 

“This New Year is very significant, and it is significant because in this month on January 22, Ram Lalla will be seated in the sanctum sanctorum (of the under-construction temple)...And this will be very beneficial for the people of the country,” Acharya Das said. Meanwhile in Ayodhya, organisers began distributing worshipped ‘akshat’ -- rice grains mixed with turmeric and ghee -- on New Year’s Day and this will continue up to January 15, a week before the consecration ceremony at the Ram Temple. ‘Those who hesitated to even take Ayodhya’s name now saying they will visit if invited’: TAKING a swipe at Opposition party leaders, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said that those who hesitated to even take Ayodhya’s name are now saying they will visit the city if invited. Several Opposition party leaders have suggested that they will attend the consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on January 22. 5,000 artists to perform in Ayodhya from January to March: OVER 5,000 musicians, dancers and other artistes will perform in Ayodhya from January 14 to March 24 to mark the grand ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony on January 22. According to officials in the tourism department, guests will get to witness the grandeur of Indian culture through music, art and dance performances in Ayodhya in one of the biggest events of the decade. “Artists from almost all states where Lord Ram’s footprints have been found, will be called to Ayodhya to showcase their skills between January 14 and March 24,” said Tourism and Culture Principal Secretary Mukesh Meshram.

 

“Folk singers, classical singers, semi-classical singers, and those who are experts in playing shehnai, violin, sitar, tabla and mridang will perform in Ayodhya. Exponents of Kathak, Bharat Natyam, Kathakali and the likes will perform for VVIP guests coming to Ayodhya during this period. A meeting to finalise the artistes will be held this week,” he said. Over 1,400 folk artistes had performed in the temple town during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit on December 30. However, the celebration on January 22 will be grander and over 100 stages are expected to come up in the city, said an official of the Tourism and Culture Department. “Lord Ram has had a significant influence on the art and culture of India. Ramayana has been a popular theme for centuries in classical dance performances. Many compositions were inspired by the story of Lord Ram,” the official added. Besides these performances, thematic artworks, revamped facades and renamed roads are also part of the grand facelift. Hundreds of artists from Odisha, Bihar, bamboo artists from the Northeastern states of Assam, Manipur and flower artists from Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan will decorate Ayodhya ahead of the grand event.

 

Sand artists from Odisha will decorate the city with beautiful sand sculptures and drawings, said Meshram. “Sand art is popular all over the world, and now it would be seen in Ayodhya too. To carve sand sculptures, the raw material of fine-grain sand mixed with water is being readied. Artists will display the magic of fingers on sand by drawing beautiful sculptures of Lord Ram and Ramayan,” he added. The Principal Secretary said, “Bamboo artists from Assam, Manipur and Tripura would erect giant bamboo gates and make illustrations for decorating Ayodhya before the ceremony.” Artists will also make Madhubani paintings on Ramayan while those from Maharashtra will create Warli paintings. “Warli art uses geometric shapes, lines, and dots to create intricate images,” added Meshram.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed officials to decorate the four main routes in Ayodhya (Ram Path, Bhakti Path, Janmabhoomi Path, and Dharma Path) with flowers on January 22. Flowers from different parts of the country will be brought to Ayodhya to add beauty to various parts of the city. Some imported flowers will be used for the decoration of the 2.7-acre campus of the temple. The road from Ayodhya bypass to the Lucknow-Gorakhpur National Highway would be adorned with attractive paintings. The district authorities have been directed to ensure swift completion of illumination and facade works along all the main routes of the city before January 14.

Adityanath also lauded the change in Ayodhya’s infrastructure, which now has spacious roads, upgraded railway station and air connectivity. He added that Ayodhya will soon have waterways also.

“This is the biggest change in the double engine government. If you assert your power, everyone will join you,” he said.

Ayodhya rang in the New Year on December 31 night, amid chants of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ as many residents and others had gathered at the iconic Lata Mangeshkar Chowk near Naya Ghat.

A large number of people took holy dip in the Saryu river on the New Year while others visited the Ramjanmabhoomi temple to have a ‘darshan’ of Ram Lalla, as well as Hanumangarhi temple to seek blessings of Lord Hanuman.

Asked about the further construction of the Ram temple, this year, Das said, “A lot of work is to be done in 2024. One is that Ram Lalla will be seated in the sanctum sanctorum. And, Lok Sabha elections also will take place in this year, 2024, and all these will be ‘shubh’ (propitious) and good.”

The consecration ceremony will take place few months ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the temple town on December 30 during which he held a roadshow, inaugurated the redeveloped Ayodhya railway station and the newly-bult airport, and laid foundation stone for a slew of other projects.

On August 5, 2020, he had performed the ‘bhoomipujan’ ceremony in Ayodhya for the upcoming temple.

Settling a fractious issue that goes back more than a century, the Supreme Court in a historic verdict in 2019 backed the construction of a Ram temple by a trust at the disputed site in Ayodhya, and ruled that an alternative five-acre plot must be found for a mosque in the Hindu holy town.

On December 6, 1992, a frenzied mob of kar sewaks gathered in the holy town from from different parts of the country, had demolished the mosque, triggering communal violence in many parts of the country.

While much has changed in Ayodhya since the landmark verdict, the Ram temple issue and the history of the dispute continues to weigh on minds of many people.

Asked if lasting peace will return to Ayodhya after the construction of the Ram temple, Das, the Ram temple’s chief priest, said,

He also shared that many development projects have materialised in the temple town and more are in the offing.

“Development is happening in Ayodhya. Airport has come up, new railway station (building) got built, and Ram Path has been developed. Many such roads are proposed, and through these projects, Ayodhya will be seen in a grand form. People will come and have ‘darshan’. It is a very auspicious month (January) and it may bode well for everyone is my blessing,” he added.