Ram temple 1st anniversary celebrations: Commoners to be invited to attend events at Angad Tila

letters@hindustantims.com

The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has decided to invite common people and 110 VIPs to the first anniversary of the pran pratishtha (consecration ceremony) of Ram Lalla to be celebrated on January 11 in Ayodhya according to the Hindu calendar.

While commoners will be able to attend events at Angad Tila, entry to other places in the Ram Janmabhoomi will be restricted to the VIPs. The three-day events will continue till January 13.

“Common people could not attend the pran pratishtha ceremony of Ram Lalla (on January 22, 2024). So, the Trust has decided to invite them on the first anniversary of the pran pratishtha. They will be allowed to attend events on all three days at Angad Tila,” said Champat Rai, general secretary of the Trust.

“Around 110 VIPs will be invited to the anniversary celebrations,” according to the Trust.

Those VIPs who could not be invited to the pran pratishtha ceremony will be invited to the first anniversary celebrations, the Trust said.

On all three days, commoners will be allowed to attend cultural events at Angad Tila which will began at 2pm with Ram Katha every day.

Apart from Ram Katha, manas pravachan (discourse) and cultural events will also take place at Angad Tila. Prasad will be distributed in the morning on all three days.

The Trust has decided to celebrate the first anniversary of Ram Lalla’s pran pratishtha according to the Hindu calendar and not the English calendar (Gregorian calendar). As per the English calendar, the Ram Mandir was inaugurated on January 22, 2024 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Three-day celebrations will start from January 11, which is dwadashi (12th day of the lunar fortnight), according to the Hindu calendar.

The January event will also feature the ceremonial pran pratishtha (consecration) of Ram Darbar on the temple’s first floor, which will include 4.5-foot-tall marble idols of Lord Ram, Mata Sita, Lord Hanuman, and Lord Ram’s brothers Bharat, Lakshman and Shatrughan.

Lord Ram and Mata Sita will be placed on a gold-plated throne, with Hanuman and Bharat positioned at their feet, and Lakshman and Shatrughan standing behind.

“Ram Lalla is enthroned in the temple’s sanctum-sanctorum on the ground floor. On the first floor, we will have Ram Darbar,” Anil Mishra, member of the Trust, said.

Only a limited number of devotees will be allowed access to the temple’s first floor.