AYODHYA: Holi, for the first time, will be celebrated with grandeur at the Ram Janmabhoomi temple here. This is the first Holi when the Ram Lalla’s idol is not in a tent but is ensconced in a proper temple.
The chief priest of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple, Acharya Satyendra Das, said, “Ram Lalla stayed inside a temporary tent for three decades and was kept away from festivity. He will bless devotees this year after the liberation of his birthplace.”
Dr. Anil Mishra, member of the temple Trust, said, “After Mughal king Babar’s commander Mir Baqi attacked the premises in 1528, Holi celebration was muted and limited to traditional rituals. Five hundred years later, we will celebrate the festival of colours at Ram Lalla’s court. A new era has begun.”
Natural colours and scented ‘gulaal’ will be used in celebrations in the court of Ram Lalla. The entire temple complex will be decorated with flowers in different hues, sourced from different parts of the country. The Ram Temple Trust has already begun discussions with priests on rituals scheduled for Holi.
Celebrations will be doubled because the construction of the Ram temple has also begun in earnest. The Supreme Court, in November 2019, had handed over the land for the Ram temple construction to the Hindus, setting at rest the long-pending dispute.