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Ram mandir inauguration: Faith brings Ayodhya alive on landmark day
On January 22, 2024, the historic Ram Temple in Ayodhya, India was inaugurated, with prominent figures from various fields in attendance.
It all led to this seminal day. Centuries of contested history; movements that blended the religious and the political, bring forth rancour and violence to form one of the primary political fault lines of modern India; an illegal demolition; a court case that lasted seven decades, culminating in a judgement in November 2019; calls for healing and moving on; an announcement in Parliament in February 2020, and the laying of a foundation stone six months later. All milestones that will find a prominent place in India history, leading to the morning of January 22, 2024 on the banks of the Saryu.
It was cold and windy to begin with, but by 10am, it was clear that it was going to be a rare crisp winter day in Ayodhya — sunny, blue skies, with a bit of nip in the air. Cars were rolling into town, bearing the assorted group of 7,500-odd invited for the event. With organisers, volunteers and security personnel, there were close to 12,000 inside the temple complex.
Security was tight, but efficient. Everyone was on their best behaviour — some tried to gatecrash, or bring along members of their families who were not included in the invitation, and were politely turned away. Some people used golf carts to get to the actual site of the event -- the area surrounding the temple where chairs with cushions had been put up. There were volunteers to guide people; footwear storage counters manned by helpful young men who even unlaced the shoes of the infirm and the elderly.
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Most people were dressed for the occasion — silk sarees, kurta pajamas, bandhgalas, and some amount of bling. There were opening acts — one featured Bollywood singer Shankar Mahadevan, another featured Anuradha Paudwal, and still another with Sonu Nigam. Every once in a while, a slogan in praise of Ram would surge through the audience, like an aural Mexican wave.
By 10.45am, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had arrived in Ayodhya, and by noon, in a cream kurta, dhoti and a patka, walked into the sanctum sanctorum holding a silver umbrella on a folded red dupatta. For close to an hour, as giant screens beamed the visuals to Ayodhya, India and the world, he sat front and centre of the “pran pratishtha” ceremony of Ram Lalla, as the idol of a 5-year-old Ram, adorned in finery, was revealed to the world.
Outside, 50 traditional musical instruments serenaded the event, part of a devotional “Mangal Dhwani”. Orchestrated by Ayodhya’s celebrated poet Yatindra Mishra, and backed by the New Delhi’s Sangeet Natak Akademi, the instruments included the pakhawaj, flute and dholak from Uttar Pradesh, veena from Karnataka, algoja from Punjab, sundari from Maharashtra, mardala from Odisha, santoor from Madhya Pradesh, pung from Manipur, nagada and kali from Assam, and tambura from Chhattisgarh.
“This magnificent musical programme represents a momentous occasion for every Indian, bringing together diverse traditions in celebration and honour of Shri Ram,” a member of the temple trust said.
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Invitees were given bells that most rang throughout. They were also given a book on Ayodhya, a metal diya, and special mala and a scarf, all inside a bag that carried the image of the new temple and an image of Lord Ram. At one point, the crowd cheered as helicopters flew overhead, showering the invitees with petals.
It was clear that this was a day of fervour, but also a day to mark your presence. For, under the petals sat a glittering array of among India’s most prominent men and women. There were (to name a few) spiritual leaders such as Jagadguru Shankaracharya Kanchi Kamkoti Peetham and Swami Vijayendra Saraswati; industrialists such as Mukesh Ambani and his family, and Kumar Mangalam Birla and his family; film industry icons such as Amitabh Bachchan, Rajinikanth, Ram Charan, Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhat; and sports stars such as Sachin Tendulkar and Mithali Raj; politicians from the BJP, and some allies such as former prime minister HD Deve Gowda and former allies such as N Chandrababu Naidu.
“On January 21 and 22, Ayodhya became a landing ground for a bevy of VVIPs, with many arriving on chartered flights. The diversity of attendees, ranging from spiritual leaders and politicians to cinema personalities, industrialists and sportspersons created an unprecedented aura or grandeur. The convergence of luminaries contributed to the significance of the event, making it a memorable chapter in Ayodhya’s history,” said Girishpati Tripathi, Ayodhya’s mayor.
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By 1pm, with the “pran pratishtha” over and Ram Lalla now “virajmaan”(enthroned), this bevy of India’s finest watched in rapt attention as Ram Janmabhoomi Kshetra Trust treasurer Swami Givind Giri Maharaj, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, and finally Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to the dias to speak, each describing the day as a civilisational moment in India’s history. Framing the dias behind them was the Ram Temple, constructed in the traditional Nagara style, 380 feet in length, 250 feet in width, supported by 392 pillars and 44 doors, each intricately carved, now very real.
The invitees got a darshan of the temple and the idol, and as evening began to fall in Ayodhya, more people poured into the Ram Temple to bow before Ram Lalla, even as the banks of the Saryu were lit up by thousands of diyas in celebration.
For Krishnanath Singh, a schoolteacher who lives 3km from the temple, this was a day to celebrate a “divya Ayodhya, navya Ayodhya, bhavya Ayodhya (pious, new, magnificent Ayodhya)”. “This is a historic day for each and every resident, not just from Ayodhya or Uttar Pradesh but for the entire country,” he said.
January 22, 2024 -- the day, in his words, when Ram Lalla returned home.
