A carnival atmosphere pervades Ayodhya as people from across the country have reached the temple town before the consecration ceremony of Ram Lalla on Monday.
Chandra Shekhar, Ganga Dhar Saka and Balakrishna, along with their family members, arrived from Solapur, Maharashtra, on January 20 and they have chosen to remain present here on Monday despite being fully aware that darshan of Ram Lalla will not be possible on the Pran Pratishtha day.
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“We had booked a lodge around two months ago on telephone. This month, we came to know that darshan of Ram Lalla will not be possible (on Monday) and both the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister (Yogi Adityanath) have urged outsiders not to come to Ayodhya on January 22,” said Chandra Shekhar as his wife Rupa agreed.
“No matter what, we had to remain in Ayodhya for Ram Lalla’s Pran Pratishtha,” Ganga Dhar said.
After the Supreme Court verdict of November 9, 2019 paved the way for construction of the Ram temple, Balkrishan and his wife Anita had pledged to remain in Ayodhya whenever the shrine came up.
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{{/usCountry}}M Prabhu Kumar, 29, a BTech, who has come from Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, said, “I am fully aware that I will not be able to attend the Pran Pratishtha ceremony of Ram Lalla and darshan will not be allowed (on January 22). But I will leave Ayodhya only after paying obeisance to Ram Lalla.”
“My relatives and friends have come to Ayodhya for the Pran Pratishtha ceremony,” added Kumar.
A large number of people have also arrived from Rajasthan and Bihar.
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“My only wish was to be in Ayodhya on the day Ram Lalla is enthroned in the temple’s sanctum sanctorum,” said Prateek Yadav of Patna.
On December 30, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people not to come to Ayodhya for the Pran Pratishtha ceremony of Ram Lalla on January 22. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s assurance of ‘darshan for all’ has also failed to deter people from coming to Ayodhya.
The temple will be opened for devotees on January 23.