Etah: When the Ram Lalla was consecrated in Ayodhya Monday, a wave of pride erupted in the Etah district of Uttar Pradesh. After all, among the gifts sent for Ram Lalla, the infant deity, was a 2.5-tonne, 6-foot bell dispatched to the temple with love from Jalesar, which is famous the world over for making brass and ankle bells.
Speaking to ThePrint, Agra MP S.P. Singh Baghel said the bell was the first item mentioned by Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra trust general secretary Champat Rai Monday as he announced the various gifts received by the trust for Ram Lalla.
According to Etah District Magistrate Etah Prem Ranjan Singh, the bell symbolises “Jalesar’s extraordinary capabilities of bell manufacturing”, which were recognised under the One District One Product scheme of the Yogi Adityanath government, aimed at promoting local products.
The name of Jalesar, he added, “is now written forever in the annals of the Ram temple”.
The story of the bell is an emotional one for Aditya Mittal, the owner of the Mittal Bell factory, where it was crafted by 400 people.
Aditya told ThePrint that his brother Vikas Mittal, who was the municipal chairman of Jalesar, had pledged to present the bell to the temple four years ago, in line with the custom of offering bells at shrines on the completion of a wish.
The casting process for the bell started in 2019, he added, but Vikas Mittal succumbed to Covid in 2021, leaving Aditya with the responsibility of making good on his brother’s pledge.
He said the bell was cast with a special alloy known as ‘ashtadhatu’, from materials sourced locally. The bell costs about Rs 25 lakh, he added, saying its sound will be heard as far as 10 km away once it is properly installed.
The bell was dispatched from the factory for Ayodhya, a distance of over 450 km, as part of a procession on 8 January, said Vishva Hindu Parishad district secretary Shivani Gupta.
It reached on 9 January and was presented to Champat Rai, she added. At present, she said, it has been placed in the ‘karsevakpuram’ — described as the hub of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement — near the temple and will soon be installed in front of the main entrance to the temple.
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)
Also Read: Ayodhya Ram temple a political game-changer for Modi, BJP? Pew survey on religion has answers