Women welcome Lord Rama and light Diyas to celebrate the groundbreaking ceremony for a grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Express photo by Jasbir Malhi

ITS STREETS empty, Ayodhya huddled around TV sets, or sat glued to its phones, watching, as the bhoomi pujan got underway at the Ram temple site on Wednesday. Every 10 metres through the town, loudspeakers broadcast the ceremony live. Kalu Ram Rawal said he had come on his bicycle from Rajasthan to be witness to “history”. His cycle was covered with photos of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Subhas Chandra Bose and Swami Vivekananda.

Sudhanshu Kumar came from Prayagraj despite knowing, he said, that public would not be allowed to the main site. Security personnel manned all the roads to the town. Sitting near a dustbin was Nagar Nigam employee 32-year-old Aalim Kumar. He said he had been tasked with ensuring that stray cows did not venture onto the road. Monkeys though, whose numbers are a menace in Ayodhya, seemed to have a free run.

While district DIG Deepak Kumar had earlier told The Indian Express that the markets would remain open, most shops were shut, one reason being the wooden barricading covered in saffron that lined both sides of the road. Ashwini Gupta, who runs a confectionary shop, decorated with images of Hanuman, Ram or Om, now also stocks saffron flags. Watching the ceremony on a phone connected to a speaker, with a few customers sitting around, Gupta said, “This is a day of pride for us and we have been waiting for it for decades. I wish my father was here. He died dreaming to see Ram Lalla get a place in a grand Ram temple instead of a tent.”

The only place in town where a crowd was gathered was at a police barricade on the road leading to the Hanuman Garhi and Ram Lalla makeshift temple. Several saints raised Jai Shri Ram slogans at intervals as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech blared from speakers.
PTI reported that in the evening, diyas were lit in homes and at various temples across town as in Diwali, especially on the road leading from Hanuman Garhi to Naya Ghat. Bhajans were sung and firecrackers burst around Chhoti Devkaali area. As a large number of people headed for Ram ki Paidhi, an area nearby saw a traffic jam. Crowds could also be seen in shops selling religious items that opened in the evening.

There were a few who felt that the whole event seemed to celebrate the Prime Minister and BJP more than Lord Ram or Ayodhya. “People who did nothing for the temple movement are now stealing the limelight,” said Swami Lal Giri. However, he added, he clung onto hope. “The good thing that can come out of this is that Ayodhya will now probably be free of petty politics and talk about development.”