Mumbai: Citywide festivities mark Ram Temple Pran Prathishta

Chief Minister Eknath Shine cleaning a temple

The spirit of the Pran Prathishta event at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya was felt across the city, with various local events ranging from the clean-up of temples to live telecast of the ceremony in local trains, and stations. On the Western Railway (WR), 40 screens were set up at various stations, and about 960 TV screens inside local trains relayed the live telecast of the Pran Pratishta ceremony of the Ram Temple event, as reported by a WR spokesperson. Central Railway had 278 screens at various stations.

Pran Prathistha ceremony being screened for the public

Temple clean-up
People celebrated the Ram Temple ceremony in every possible manner. Most celebrated it even at home by offering sweets (prasad) and lighting diyas. Even sweet shops joined the celebration by making special mithai for the consecration ceremony. "There were many types of sweets specially made for this occasion. We brought one with ‘Jay Shri Ram' embossed on it," said one of the devotees.

A cleanliness campaign is being carried out on the temple premises by the BMC, CM Eknath Shinde actively participated in a temple cleaning campaign at Shiv Shrishti Ganesh Mandir (Kurla Nehru Nagar) and Nandikeshwar Mandir (Kamgar Nagar) in the Kurla area. Chief Minister Shinde mentioned that cleaning the temple helps in cleaning the entire surrounding area. This campaign is gaining strength as the manpower of three to four departments is united to clean the area simultaneously. Also, public sanitation has improved, and citizens of the local area actively participated in this cleanliness drive. Schoolchildren from Kurla also enthusiastically participated in the cleanliness drive.

Private lab displaying a banner in observance of the temple ceremony

Hospitals
On Monday afternoon, near Sion hospital, firecrackers were burst in celebration. Opposite KEM hospital, youth were seen preparing for a rally on two-wheelers with saffron flags in hand. Several private labs in the city had put up banners in observance of the temple ceremony. Within the hospital premises, no overtly religious display was observed. However, JJ Hospital's Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) set up an ‘aarti' within the JJ campus, near the hospital's main building. In many parts of Borivli, a major celebration on roads, malls, and societies was witnessed.

Malls and societies
Employees of Moksh Plaza (a mall in Borivali West) were seen dressed in saffron clothes. A security person, requesting anonymity while speaking to mid-day, said, "It is an auspicious moment for all of us. We should definitely celebrate it." Another employee said, "We took a collective decision to wear saffron-coloured clothes and distribute prasad to people visiting the mall to mark the consecration celebration of Ram Mandir."

Rangolis of Ram Mandir and Lord Ram at PanchDham Co-operative Housing Society

Societies across Borivali organised cultural festivals followed by dinner for the residents. A managing committee member of a society in Borivli said, "We have organised a cultural programme and dinner. In our circular, we have specifically mentioned that no one should be forced to attend the event, as the society has a mix of Catholic, Muslim and Hindu residents. Surprisingly, many residents of other faiths also participated in the events willingly."

Rangoli
PanchDham Co-operative Housing Society in Anand Nagar, Dahisar East, adorned its two wings with festoons and rangolis depicting the Ram Mandir and Lord Ram. Each household in the society illuminated diyas to mark the occasion of the consecration of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya. The society arranged a recitation of SunderKand (the fifth of the seven books/kands of Ramayana) in the evening, followed by a Maha Aarti. Additionally, residents organised a get-together in the form of a dinner (Maha Prasad) to enhance the festive spirit.

(From left) Anand Prakash Gupta, Manoj Jalan, Narendra Potdar, Vimal Punamiya, Mahendra Sonawat, Vishnu Kediya, Navin Bagediya, members of Bharat Merchants' Chamber Trust, at the pooja organised at Kalbadevi on Monday on the occasion of the Ram Lalla Pran Pratistha at Ayodhya. The members also distributed food to the less fortunate and organised a bhajan afternoon. Pic/Sameer Markande

"Apart from decorating the society premises and celebrating the day, we wanted our kids and the younger generation to understand the importance of the day. The idea was to organise events like SunderKand recitation, etc., so that youngsters know about the life of Shree Ramchandra, Ramayana, and its beautiful teachings, and more importantly, our legacy," said Alpa Gohil, a resident of PanchDham.

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No of screens set up at various stations