HYDERABAD : As the face of Ram Lalla idol was revealed on a large LED screen at the Nizam College grounds, several devotees dressed in saffron turbans and shawls turned emotional.
Loud cheers of “Jai Shree Ram” were heard even as the troops were playing bhajans of Siya Ram. “It is as if we have been preparing for this performance for 500 years,” the band lead told TNIE.
On the stage, the organizers had placed idols of Lord Ram, Lakshman and Sita.
While devotees could offer their prayers to the idols, there was also a group of volunteers who had dressed up as the Lord himself.
At Abids, young children dressed up as Lord Hanuman with miniature versions of Bajrangbali Gada (mace). Hundreds of devotees rallied on the streets singing and dancing in praise of the lord.
While the Hindu community celebrated en masse, there were young men from the Muslim community too, at the event; some of whom were distributing sweets to other devotees.
Commenting on the Pran Pratishtha, a person from the Muslim community from Secunderabad, Iqbal, said, “I know what happened in 1992 was very wrong and was very shameful but let us now accept whatever happened; let’s sit down, pray together, and grow Hindu-Muslim Unity.”
Manoj, who organized a special pooja at his home said, “All deities of all religions reside in the city of Ayodhya. Pran Pratishtha of Ram Lalla took place on Monday. This is the beginning of the Mandir. Whatever may have been the struggle, today has become the day of the people.”
Even after the consecration, a lot of devotees visited the pandal at Nizam College to get a glimpse of the Ram idol and walk through a photo exhibit arranged at the college grounds. The organizers had also arranged anna danam for the devotees. “There was an overwhelming turnout of devotees. We had arranged food for two thousand people, but over three thousand visitors arrived at the screening,” shared Bharat, one of the organizers.
(With inputs from Swethavimala M)