Lucknow: The Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh (UP) government’s Diwali celebration, Deepotsav 2022, will be a grander affair than its previous editions, ThePrint has learnt, with the state government set to inaugurate as many as 66 projects, worth Rs 4,000 crore in Ayodhya during the event.
These include a memorial park dedicated to Suriratna (also known as Heo Hwang-ok), who, according to many South Korean accounts, was a princess from Ayodhya who moved to Korea about 2,000 years ago and started the Karak dynasty there after marrying a local king.
Earlier, a memorial dedicated to Suriratna had been set up on the bank of the Saryu river in Ayodhya in 2001, which has since become a big draw for tourists from South Korea.
Other projects, part of the Rs 4,000 crore package, include an auditorium to be set up at an estimated cost of Rs 488.97 lakh, the Ayodhya Peyjal Yojana (Ayodhya water scheme) worth Rs 5,456.62 lakh, a new dairy unit at an estimated cost of Rs 6,400 lakh and the Ayodhya driving training institute at an estimated cost of Rs 856.84 lakh.
The event will also see Prime Minister Narendra Modi lighting the first diya (earthen lamp) in Ayodhya — the site of the under-construction Ram temple and what is said to be the birthplace of the Hindu deity.
This will be Modi’s first visit to Ayodhya’s Deepotsav festival since its maiden year, when the event was started by the Adityanath government in 2017. This year’s festival — the first since Adityanath returned as CM earlier this year — will be held on 23 October, and comes ahead of the municipal polls likely to be held in the state in December.
A total of 15 makeshift “dwaars (gates)”, dedicated to characters from the Hindu epic Ramayana, like Hanuman dwaar, Ahilya dwaar, Shabri dwaar, Bharat dwaar and so on, have been installed to give the event a feel of a Diwali being celebrated during ‘Treta Yuga’, a state tourism department official told ThePrint.
Treta Yuga is the second of the four ages according to Hindu philosophy and so called because three incarnations of the Hindu deity Vishnu are believed to have graced the earth during this period — Vaman, Parshuram and Ram.
These dwaars will be lit up with special lighting, the official added.
For the past two years, the Deepotsav has made it to the Guinness Book of World Records, first by lighting over 5 lakh diyas in 2020, and then breaking its own record by lighting over 9 lakh diyas last year. While the official target for this year is to light 12 lakh diyas, according to sources in the state tourism department, tourism minister Jaiveer Singh told the media Wednesday that the number is likely to reach 18 lakh, with diyas being lit along the ghats of Ayodhya and across the district.
“A lot of (philanthropic) organisations are also joining the Deepotsav celebrations and people from across the districts are sending diyas to Ayodhya. The number is expected to rise to 18 lakh,” Singh said.
Artistes and dignitaries from foreign countries are also expected to be a part of the event, said sources in the UP government. CM Adityanath Wednesday reached Ayodhya to review preparations.
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Lights, laser shows, and a celebration of Ram
Singh told the media that PM Modi will light the first diya at the event, and an official working in the UP government told ThePrint that the PM was expected to reach Ayodhya on 23 October.
“The PM is scheduled to arrive here on 23 October. He will participate in the Saryu Aarti (as part of Deepotsav) and inspect the Ram temple site,” the official said.
According to state government officials, the PM’s tentative itinerary includes darshan and worship of Shri Ramlalla, inspection of Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra site, Rajyabhishek of symbolic Bhagwan Shri Ram and aarti at New Ghat at the Saryu river, followed by the official start of Deepotsav.
The PM will also witness a 3-D holographic projection and laser show at the Ram Ki Paidi ghats being organised by the UP government which will “show Ram’s arrival to Ayodhya (after defeating Ravana),” said the official quoted above.
Diyas will be lit at the feet of the digital projection of the deity, one of the main attractions of the festival, said government officials.
There will be Ram Leela performances by artistes from Gujarat, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, and artistes from as many as eight countries are also set to perform at the event, said sources in the government.
There will be digital fireworks and 11 types of floats offering glimpses into the life of Ram, to be displayed by the information department, said sources in the tourism department.
Amid reports that some foreign dignitaries have also been invited, a statement from the UP government said Thursday that the first lady of South Korea, Kim Keon-hee, wife of President Yoon Suk-yeol, has been invited to the event.
Chief Minister Adityanath Wednesday held a meeting of officials in Ayodhya to review preparations for Deepotsav and visited the different venues for the event. He directed officials to ensure regular reporting of the preparations for the event to the CMO office.
Yogi inspected the Ram Katha Park, the Ram temple site, Ram ki Paidi and Saryu Aarti Sthal.
He had earlier, on 23 September, also taken stock of preparations for Deepotsav while in Ayodhya as part of an aerial survey of flood-affected districts in the state.
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
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