The Maharishi Valmiki International Airport has a façade befitting of the town that is being offered up for the world to see. It’s stylised as a Hindu temple but is Westernised in its approach, with gleaming marble floors and clinical LED lights. However, there appears to be a catch.
Upon entering the airport, and after taking in its ‘modernity’ and the fact that it is a reflection of the government’s promise –Ayodhya will be a world-class city with ‘Hindu-themed’ infrastructure rivalling tier-1 cities – a gush of wind hits. The ceiling consists only of panels that don’t extend into the entire area. It is half finished. The false ceiling is yet to be put. On a cold, windy day, the terminal is no insulator.
Ram certainly won’t be happy with the hasty preparations made by the Yogi Adityanath government. Even though his Pushpak Viman won’t need an airport or airstrip to land in his own backyard, what about his devotees coming from all across the universe?
Jammed servers, unreliable communication
It’s a reasonably bustling airport. Airlines like Indigo and Air India Express have announced daily flights in and out of the temple-town, as it preps for and becomes home to a legion of tourists flying in from various parts of the country. But again, just a few days before the pran pratishtha, the airport servers are down. The screens provide no information of which flight is on time, which is colossally delayed. A layer of fog has descended over much of North India, leading to massive delays. Yet, passengers need to depend on often unreliable airline communication. No one is complaining though. What is some delay for the sake of Ram? They have already waited for over three decades.
A woman-priest has several kilograms of extra baggage. She pays for most of it in cash, but there is not enough change. She resorts to Google Pay and is politely asked to wait. The servers are still down. She is holding up the line, but this is Ayodhya – everyone is expected to be in a spiritual state of mind – and so, tempers do not flare.
Just chant Jai Shri Ram, perhaps in your head for a change, and hope that the servers will be up, and that the end of kalyug entails an airport with a full roof.
While waiting, she decides to let her fellow passengers know. “They [the administration] have been talking about building an airport in Ayodhya for 25 years. But it finally happened only because of Yogi and Modi,” she declares.
Also read: For 500 years, Ayodhya was ‘Shriheen’. Now, it’s all aglow
Modern facilities – just no roof
Phase one of the airport, which is open to passengers, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 30 December. Due to its state-of-the-art facilities (just no ceiling), which include decorative fountains and sustainable development infrastructure like a water treatment plant, a rainwater harvesting system, and a sewage treatment plant, it cost a reported Rs 1,450 crore. There is, of course, the sandstone ‘temple’ itself, its architecture a constant reminder of the new India being conjured by Modi.
The security process is smooth and uneventful. As the flight is invariably delayed, a wait ensues. On the first floor, there is an inviting sign for a food court. But of course, as we are in phase one, this food court is yet to come into existence. But the Ramayana mosaic, which covers much of the wall, comes as a (very literally), sizable distraction. It exemplifies Modi’s reincarnation of religion: subtlety is a thing of the past. Everything is blatant, flashy and needs to make an incontrovertible statement.
The airport development appears to be in sync the development of the temple –– there is time before the rush of Kashi and Mathura pales before Ayodhya. Till then, the airport can fix its roof, of course.
There’s a kiosk in one corner. The lights are neon but the snacks, unfortunately, are old world. It’s all Maggi noodles, samosas, paranthas, and milky coffee. Slightly dreary, but they make do. Right before passengers start complaining about the level of spice. As food is at all airports, it’s tragically overpriced. Maggi for Rs 250 pinches. That is as much as you would pay while on the aircraft. Ayodhya airport is yet to find its unique offering. Considering the potential, there’s more than one item that would be keen to wear the GI tag. Where there is faith, there is a market.
An airport experience is nothing without window shopping. There’s a place for that too. A kiosk selling imported chips and branded chocolates. But no one is too interested. Passengers instead sit, waiting for that one staffer with the thunderous voice to announce when they’re boarding, and while away their time watching flights come in and out.
(Edited by Zoya Bhatti)