THE much-awaited Ram temple consecration will be held here on Monday in a grand ceremony with Prime Minister Narendra Modi attending the rituals, following which the shrine will be opened for the public a day later. The “Pran Pratishtha” ceremony will begin at 12.20 pm and is expected to end by 1 pm. The prime minister will then address a gathering of more than 7,000 people, including seers and prominent personalities, at the venue. Lakhs of people are expected to watch the event live on TV and online platforms as BJP-ruled States and Odisha, Himachal, Jharkhand have declared a holiday while the Central Government has announced a half-day off. As authorities made final preparations in a decked-up Ayodhya, considered the birthplace of Lord Ram, temples across the country and abroad have announced special festivities to mark the occasion. From Washington DC to Paris to Sydney, events have been planned in various parts of the world on January 22. These programmes are either being organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) or Hindu diaspora groups in 60 countries. Fourteen couples from various parts of India will be the “yajmaans” (hosts) for the “Pran Pratishtha”.

 

The rituals ahead of the consecration ceremony began on January 16, and according to temple trust general secretary Champat Rai, these will end on January 21. The new 51-inch idol of Ram Lalla, sculpted by Mysuru-based Arun Yogiraj, was placed in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple on Thursday afternoon. The first image of the new idol with eyes covered with a cloth was released on Friday. Rai has said the entry into the temple will be from the east side and exit from the south side. The entire templesuperstructure willeventually be three-storeyed -- G+2. Visitors will climb 32 steps from the eastern side to reach the main temple. Thetemplecomplex,built in the traditional Nagara style, will be 380 feet long (east-westdirection),250feet wide and 161 feet high. Each floor of the temple will be 20 feet high and haveatotal of 392 pillars and 44 gates. TheGovernmentispulling out all stops to prepare for the big day with police personnel deployed across the city as part of a multi-layered security plan. Movable barriers with barbed wires attached to themcanbe spottedat every prominent crossroad in the temple city, as police use themtoregulatetraffic,especially during VVIP movements. Multiple NDRF teams trained to tackle chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear attacks, drowning incidents and disasters like earthquakes have been deployed. The administration has made arrangements to deal with any health emergency, especially in view of the biting cold. Beds have been reserved at city-based and district hospitals and the medical college here. Specialists from AIIMS have provided focused emergency response training to doctors at healthcare institutions.

 

The grand Ram temple has been decorated with “rich stocks” of flowers and special lights and the entire city is drenched in religious fervour or as is the common refrain among the locals, “Ayodhya Rammay ho raha hai”. Streetlights on flyovers have been decorated with artworksdepictingLordRam, including cut out sof bow and arrow, andornamentallamp posts carry designs themed on the traditional “Ramanandi tilak”. “Shubh Ghadi Aayi”, “Taiyar hai Ayodhya dham, virajenge Shree Ram” and “Ram firlautenge”,“Ayodhya me Ramrajya”are among the slogans on posters and hoardings splashed across the city. Various verses from the Ramayana area lso printed on posters at prominent places like theRam Marg,the Saryu River bank and Lata Mangeshkar Chowk. Ramlilas,Bhagwat Kathas, Bhajan sandhyas and cultural programmes are going on at different places here. The banks ofthe Saryu River are also decked up where thousands flock every evening for the “aarti”. OnJanuary 22, public sector banks, insurance companies,financial institutions and regional rural banks across the country will also remain closed for half the day. Stock exchanges NSE and BSE have also announced a trading holiday. While more than 7,000 people are in the long list of invitees,the selectlist features 506 A-listers.

 

Those attending the “Pran Prathishtha” also include people linked to the agitation for the temple at the Ram Janmabhoomi. Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan,business tycoons Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani, andsporting icon Sachin Tendulkar are among the prominent people to be invited. AlmostallOppositionleaders invited to the ceremony have declined to attend the ceremony,withtheCongress calling it a BJP-RSS event. Butthereareothers,noton the list, who are heading to Ayodhyaintheiruniqueways -- walking, cycling and even skating. Covering long distances amidbone-chillingcold,people from all overthe country and cutting across religions are flocking to the temple town driven by their faith in Lord Ram and carried through by the overwhelming religious mood in the country. From Lord Ram image adorned bangles to 56 varietiesof“petha” andfromtraditional items like a 500 kg iron-copper “nagada” and the “Onavillu” bow to offerings of rice, ladoos and vegetables,adiversearrayofgifts are flooding in from across the country.

 

Also featured in the list of gifts forthe January 22 event are special perfumes from Kannauj, 500 kg “kumkum” leaves fromAmravati, grains collectedat a RamTemple in Delhi, flowers from Bhopal and papers with Lord Ram written4.31croretimesfrom Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara. The Ram Temple management committee has receivedotherofferingssuch as a 108-foot incense stick, a 2,100-kg bell, a giant lamp weighing 1,100 kg, gold footwear,a10-foot-highlock and key and a clock that simultaneously denotes time in eight countries, among others. More than3,000 gifts from Sita’s birthplace in Nepal’s Janakpur have also arrived. A Sri Lankan delegation brought aspecial gift from the AshokVatika, a garden mentioned in the Ramayana. From Nihang Singhs to ISKCON and temple trusts from across the country to locals in Ayodhya, various community kitchens are being run here to serve “langar” food to devotees. STRINGENT SECURITY MEASURES IN PLACE: A MULTI-LAYER security cover is in place in Ayodhya for the consecration ceremony at the Ram temple, with 10,000 CCTVs keeping an eye on the movement of people and police personnel in plain clothes deployed at the venue.

 

 

 

OLD IDOL in front of NEW IDOL THE old idol of Ram Lalla, kept in a makeshift shrine, will be placed in front of the new idol which will be consecrated at the temple here on January 22, said Govind Dev Giri, the Treasurer of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. He also said that more than Rs 1,100 crore has so far been spent in constructing the Ram Temple and another Rs 300 crore might be needed to complete the work. A 51-inch Ram Lalla idol was placed in the sanctum sanctorum of the Ram temple last week. Three idols of Lord Ram were built from which the one sculpted by Mysuru-basedsculptorArun Yogiraj has been selected for “Pran Prathistha”.

 

When asked what would happentotheothertwoidols, the treasurer of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust said, “We shall place them in the temple with all honour and respect. One of the idols will be kept with us sincewewillneedittomeasure the clothes and ornaments of Prabhu Shri Ram.” About the original Ram Lallaidol,Giri said,“It willbe placed in front of Ram Lalla.

 

The original idol is very important. It is five to six inches in height and cannot be seenfroma distanceof 25 to 30 feet. That is why we needed a bigger idol.” Whenaskedaboutthecost incurred in constructing the Ram Temple he said, “More thanRs1,100crorehavebeen spent and it is likely that Rs 300 crore more will be needed since the construction is notcompleteyet.One storey is completed and we are going to build one more storey.” On the selection of the Ram Lalla idol sculpted by Arun Yogiraj, Giri said, “It was very difficult for us to choose one idol out of three. All of them are very beautiful all followed the criteria provided by us.” “The first criterion was that the face should be child-like with a divine glow. Lord Ram was “ajaanbaahu” (a person whose arms reach near the knees). So the arms should be of that length.” The one chosen for the consecration ceremonywas“stoutandhad a good personality”. The limbs were in the correct proportion, the Treasurer of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust said.