Army copters shower petals on Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Indian instruments render ‘Mangal Dhwani’

Aksheev Thakur

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New Delhi, January 22

After preparations over many days, the consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya culminated on Monday with Army helicopters showering flower petals over the attendees and a grand musical morning resonating with religious fervour.

The musical event that started at 10 am and continued for two hours was orchestrated by Yatindra Mishra who hails from the royal family of Ayodhya. As many as 50 musical instruments from across the country were part of a devotional ‘Mangal Dhwani’, a musical event that echoed during the consecration ceremony.

• Architectural style Nagara
• Width 250 ft
• Height 161 ft
• Pillars 392
• Gates 44

Singers Shankar Mahadevan, Anuradha Paudwal and Sonu Nigam added a musical touch by performing ‘Ram bhajan’ at Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple ahead of the ‘pran pratishtha’ ceremony. The Indian instruments included ‘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.

There was also ‘shehnai’ from Delhi, ‘ravanahatha’ from Rajasthan, ‘shrikhol’ and ‘sarod’ from West Bengal, ‘ghatam’ from Andhra Pradesh, ‘sitar’ from Jharkhand, ‘santar’ from Gujarat, ‘pakhawaj’ from Bihar, ‘hudka’ from Uttarakhand and ‘mridangam’ from Tamil Nadu. The star-studded event in Ayodhya drew celebrities from various fields, including Amitabh Bachchan, Rajinikanth, Ranbir Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan, Vicky Kaushal, Katrina Kaif, Anupam Kher, Chiranjeevi, Alia Bhatt, Randeep Hooda, Kangana Ranaut, Madhur Bhandarkar, Jackie Shroff, Vivek Oberoi, Ram Charan, Ayushmann Khurrana, Rohit Shetty and many more. The guests were given bells to ring while the ritual was underway.

Book on Ayodhya, metal ‘diya’ for guests

Ayodhya: A book on Ayodhya, a metal ‘diya’, a special ‘mala’ and a scarf bearing the name of Lord Rama are among the items that have been gifted to the guests who attended the consecration ceremony at the temple here on Monday. The gifts were in a bag that had a striking graphic image of the new temple and of Lord Rama in a very young avatar. PTI

Islamic sites in India face threat: Pak

New Delhi: Condemning the consecration and construction on the site of the demolished Babri Mosque, a Pakistan Foreign Office statement called on the UN to “save the Islamic heritage sites in India”. TNS

Maharashtra Kar sevak wears footwear after 32 years

Mumbai: Vilas Bhavsar, a 60-year-old a Kar sevak from Jalgaon in Maharashtra had vowed in 1992 not to wear any footwear until a grand Ram temple is built in Ayodhya. On Monday, after the new Ram Lalla idol was consecrated, Bhavsar wore footwear for the first time in 32 years. BJP’s Girish Mahajan, a minister in Maharashtra government, presented Bhavsar, a pair of chappals at an event at Jamner in Jalgaon district on Monday and the latter wore them. PTI

Couples go for ‘muhurat’ delivery of newborns

Bengaluru/Mumbai: Hoping for an “auspicious” start for their newborns, many couples had ‘muhurat deliveries’, planned in consultation with doctors, in hospitals on Monday coinciding with the Ram Lalla idol consecration in Ayodhya.‘Ram’ and ‘Sita’ were the preferred names for many parents. PTI

IAF medics come to aid of devotee

Ayodhya: In a timely medical intervention, a mobile hospital of the IAF’s rapid response team saved a devotee who suffered a heart attack while attending the ‘pran pratishtha’ event on Monday. After Ramkrishna Srivastava (65) collapsed inside the temple complex, an IAF team provided on-site treatment to him. PTI

Grand celebrations by diaspora

1 US: Prayers, car rallies, other religious events at several places, including New York, Washington DC, Minnesota, Los Angeles and Greater Houston

2 UK: Prayers in about 250 Hindu temples across the country

3 Trinidad, Tobago: Thousands from Indian-origin population attend a grand event

4 Mauritius: A special leave for two hours was declared for Hindu employees in the country to attend prayers

5 Mexico: ‘Pran pratishtha’ held at first Lord Ram temple in Queretaro

6 Fiji: Four-day event in Suva culminates on Monday