New Delhi: The season’s melas are done and dusted, but the WhatsApp group of Noida’s upscale ATS Hamlet One Society is buzzing with festive planning. Come 22 January, the community will unite with Ayodhya for a grand celebration. “Let’s all join hands and participate in a collective celebration of Pran Pratishtha of Shri Ram Ji at Ayodhya,” urged a message, posted on 2 January. It also appealed for the lighting of the Shri Ram Jyoti in every house. The call to action immediately sparked a flurry of heart emojis, eager inquiries about preparations, and queries about how to contribute. “Is there any dress code?” asked one resident.
At the forefront of orchestrating the ATS Hamlet One programme is Gaurangi Gupta, an Art of Living trainer and a member of the apartment owner association. “A replica of the Ram temple will be installed in the amphitheatre of the society on the day of the Pran Pratishtha (consecration). It’s a historic day for the entire country, so we also have to make it special,” she said proudly.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged Hindus to not visit Ayodhya on 22 January, but that isn’t stopping housing societies and RWAs in Delhi, Noida, and Gurugram from planning parallel Ram-related events and activities in their neighbourhoods that day. Giant LED screens will beam Modi’s ceremony, prabhat pheris (morning marches) will do the rounds, mini-pujas will be held in small temples, and Ramayana paths and havans will fill the air. RWAs and housing societies have become the driving force of the temple outreach programmes of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), ensuring that the consecration makes a resounding impact in every neighbourhood.
All politics is local. And now all of Ayodhya is local. Literally. The VHP is distributing Ram temple stickers and packets of pujit Akshat, or turmeric-hued ceremonial rice, with labels proclaiming, “Apke nazdeek mandir hee Ayodhya hai (A temple near you is Ayodhya).”
In these Akshat Kalash Yatras, RSS and VHP workers are proceeding across neighbourhoods with military precision between 1 and 15 January. And devout residents are facilitating their progress every step of the way.
We have our presence at every level of the society. We have volunteers from slums to big societies
-RSS pracharak
In Gurgaon’s tree-lined DLF-2, for example, residents forward regular WhatsApp updates on the local contingent’s plans. Every day, from 10 am to 3 pm, it targets one block or manicured society—J Block on 10 January, Belvedere Tower on the 14th—bearing the Akshat, a picture of the temple, a pamphlet about the Ayodhya complex, and five diyas. “Chalo, bulaava aaya hai (come on, the invitation has come),” says one message, but of course, this is meant only metaphorically.
VVIP bookings have filled Ayodhya’s hotels, with the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra inviting 8,000 guests, including actors, businesspersons, and sadhus for the ceremony. Everyone else is encouraged to celebrate the ‘Maha Diwali’ at home. “You have waited for 500 years, wait for a few more days. For the sake of security and order, avoid coming here on 22 January. Light Ram Jyoti at home and celebrate Diwali,” said Modi on 30 December in Ayodhya.
People are taking his words seriously, but not limiting themselves to lights. For Sunil Kumar, who has a flex board shop in East Delhi, this is a business bonanza. Orders for Ram and temple-themed flex banners are flooding in, with dozens coming from RWAs in recent weeks. “People’s faith is linked to the temple, and so is our income,” said Kumar, finalising a shiny flex for the Pran Pratishtha programme of the Residents Friendship Club in MIG Flats, Vivek Vihar Phase 2, East Delhi.
Mukesh Goyal, who placed the order, said that the Ram temple is a feeling that cannot be captured in words. “We want to celebrate it together with our society,” he said. This is a moment which our ancestors could not see but we have got the privilege and we want to participate.”
Spontaneous as this devotion seems, there is a well-oiled machine keeping it running behind the scenes. Members of the RSS and VHP are actively contacting RWAs and residents, asking them to mark the consecration with sufficient grandeur.
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RWAs’ Pran Pratishtha prep
Across Delhi, Gurugram, and Noida, RWAs are gearing up for the Ram Mandir consecration with yatras, havans, and the recitation of Akhand Ramayana.
In Delhi’s Buddha Vihar Phase 2, the RWA has planned a grand Akshat Kalash Yatra on 12 January, followed by a recital of the Ram Katha from the next day until the Pran Pratistha ceremony.
Some residents are also planning to host bhandaras (communal meals) on 22 January across the National Capital Region. “The temple is making Bharat famous. Now the country will also start progressing. We will perform havan in the Durga temple of our society,” said Nem Singh, a resident of Buddha Vihar Phase 2.
Across neighbourhoods, the air crackles with anticipation. On Sunday, more than 500 people braved the chilly morning to take out a Ram Jhanki procession in Gurugram’s Sector 46. With saffron flags fluttering in their hands and “Shri Ram” patkas adorning their necks, the devotees swayed to the beat of drums and the devotional strains of the DJ bhajan ‘Awadh Main Gaao Khub Badhai’. The procession culminated in the installation of the sacred Akshat Kalash, brought all the way from Ayodhya, in the colony’s Shiv temple. “Jai Shri Ram,” the residents shouted in unison.
This is a very special occasion for all Ram bhakts. I don’t know how many generations have waited for the temple to be built, but Modiji has finally done it. He brought back Hindu pride
-Rajkumar Yadav, president of Gurugram’s Sector 46 RWA
Rajkumar Yadav, president of the Sector 46 RWA, said that on the day of consecration, a big LED screen will be installed in the Shiv temple to broadcast the live telecast from Ayodhya. The residents are also planning to arrange a bhajan mandali that will sing songs dedicated to Lord Ram on the big day. “This is a very special occasion for all Ram bhakts. I don’t know how many generations have waited for the temple to be built, but Modiji has finally done it. He brought back Hindu pride,” said Yadav.
May the life of Maryada Purushottam Ram teach us and may we receive his blessings in every sphere of life, he wrote on his Facebook page.
Similarly, the Shiv Shakti temple in Sant Ravidas Nagar, Delhi, will host an Akhand Ramayana path on 21 January for the neighbourhood, followed by a live telecast of the Pran Pratishtha the next day. “This entire temple will be decorated and a live telecast will be shown on LED screens so that those who cannot go to Ayodhya can come and watch. Lord Ram is our idol, we have unwavering faith in him,” said Mahesh Patel, president of the Shiv Shakti Temple management committee.
The famous Balaji temple in East Delhi, in collaboration with the RWA of Vivek Vihar, also plans to broadcast the live telecast from Ayodhya in its auditorium to approximately 500 people. “We will replicate whatever rituals will be performed in Ayodhya on 22 January. We have asked people in our society to put up colourful lights in their homes,” said Anand Goyal, RWA president.
The fervour is visible in Noida as well, with the Krishna Janseva Sanstha organising a Pran Pratishtha extravaganza on 22 January. Billboards announcing the event, to be held at the Noida Stadium, have sprung up across the city, inviting everyone to join the celebrations.
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Grand ambition, granular strategy
Errant pet dogs, water woes, and power tussles are the mainstay of most housing society WhatsApp and Telegram groups. But now, there’s another regular—discussions about the Ram Temple, videos of bhajans like Anu Malik’s ‘Jai Shree Ram’ and Swati Mishra’s ‘Ram Aayenge’, and updates on the progress of Akshat Kalash Yatras.
“The toli (group) of Ram bhakts has reached M-14, dancing and singing,” said one 2 January video update shared on a WhatsApp group of a well-heeled housing society in Gurugram’s DLF-2.
Spontaneous as this kind of devotion seems, there is a well-oiled machine keeping it running behind the scenes. Members of the RSS and VHP are actively contacting RWAs and residents, asking them to mark the consecration with sufficient grandeur.
“We have our presence at every level of the society. We have volunteers from slums to big societies. Through them we are spreading awareness about the Ram temple,” said a senior Delhi-based RSS pracharak on condition of anonymity. The organisation reportedly plans to reach 22,000 villages across the country with 35,000 volunteers participating in Kalash Yatras.
“This is the best case study of how society can be mobilised. Within a few days, we are reaching crores of people with one idea (Ram temple). Ayodhya will emerge as a cultural centre,” the pracharak added.
RSS volunteers discuss the Ram Mandir in their morning shakhas and distribute nimantran (invitation) letters. Small posters of Lord Ram and the Ayodhya temple, issued by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra, are seen on the walls of houses, proclaiming “Bhaye pragat kripala (Hail, the Lord is coming)”.
Ramji Lal Mansaka, a lifelong RSS volunteer and zila karyavah of East Delhi’s Shahdara district, has a chockablock schedule these days with the door-to-door campaign. “We are telling people what to do on 22 January,” he explained. “After 15 January, a plan is being made to take out prabhat pheris, and the people of the market association are being asked to decorate the whole market.”
The VHP, which was at the forefront of the Ram Mandir movement, is equally busy with its 15-day Akshat Nimantran Programme from 1 to 15 January. Their ambition is grand— reaching a target of 10 crore families— but the strategy is granular.
“I myself meet vegetable, tea, and fruit vendors and distribute invitation cards,” said Vinod Bansal, national spokesperson of VHP. “We ask everyone to celebrate the day like Diwali because Lord Ram is returning to Ayodhya after 500 years.”
There are big plans for the actual day of the consecration too. “LED screens are being installed in 5 lakh temples across the country for broadcasting the consecration live,” Bansal added.
But even as many celebrate the upcoming event as a bonus ‘Diwali’ at home, others yearn to be in Ayodhya. Buddha Vihar’s Nem Singh said he has waited for the temple to be built for a long time and can’t wait to see it with his own eyes. “Soon, I will go there with my family,” he added wistfully
But the Sangh Parivar has thought ahead for future pilgrims like him. The BJP leadership has reportedly advised party workers to assist devotees visiting the Ram Temple from 25 January to 25 March.
They are likely to have their work cut out for them. Swadesh Singh, a professor of political science at Delhi University and the author of Ayodhya Ram Mandir: Bharat’s Quest for Ram-Rajya, predicts a major boom in temple tourism. “Not only domestic tourists but also international tourism will increase significantly in Ayodhya,” he said. “The new airport will make it easier.”
(Edited by Asavari Singh)