Motorcycle diaries with Rama

Dr Aparna Bandodkar a dental surgeon from Marol is an avid biker Not only has she made countless trips across the country on her prized Enfield lovingly named Bijli she is also a prominent face of the annual Dussehra Shobha Yatra in Girgaum where she leads a group of women bikersWhat has changed over the last two years she says is that she is steering away from the usual adventure destinations and riding towards templesDr Aparna Bandodkar and her husband Yatin Pednekar are excited to witness the consecration ceremony at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya tomorrow Bandodkar an avid biker has visited scores of temples across India on her prized Enfield as part of her journey to discover her own heritage PicsAnurag AhireldquoThere is so much history we are unaware ofrdquo she tells midday ldquowhich I have been discovering For instance in 2021 I visited the Ramraja Temple in Orchha Madhya Pradesh I learned that the king who constructed it had actually built a Chaturbhuj temple first but his queen wanted a Ram temple He refused initially but then an idol of Lord Ram came floating on the river from Ayodhya and the king could not ignore the signrdquoBandodkarrsquos journey began during one of the darkest phases of her life She was grappling with the aftereffects of a spinal injury and sought solace and healing in yoga While reading up on it she became interested in spirituality The most remarkable twist of her story is that she used to be atheistModel and canine behaviourist Shruti Golersquos annual holiday involves a visit to a holy site Last year the family clubbed together Lucknow Varanasi and Ayodhya and she intends to go again to the latter in 2025 after hotel prices dropThe sustained conversations in the country about Hindus reconnecting with their roots and reclaiming their lost heritage has nurtured and deepened her interest And she is not the only one The phenomenon known as civilisational populism has been documented by several academics and researchers over the yearsIn February 2022 academics Raja M Saleem Ihsan Yilmaz and Priya Chacko coauthored a paper for the European Center for Populism Studies where they traced the rise of populism in IndiaBook reviewer Vidhya Thakkar went to Kedarnath for her 27th birthday in March last year as salve for a tough yearldquoPopulismrdquo the paper stated ldquodraws on nostalgia to construct an idealised and at times sacralised lost lsquohomelandrsquo or culture that the leader or movement promises to restore This feature makes populism lsquoa backwardlooking reactionary ideology reflecting a deep sense of nostalgia for the good old daysrsquo This revisionist romanticised loss of the imagined lsquogolden agersquo is further intensified when linked to a globalised or multicultural context Populists thus develop a lsquoselective deployment of the national pastrsquo to shape this nostalgia in lsquothe peoplersquo that challenges the status quordquoAnd to put money where their mouth is systemic support has been provided to the tourism industry The Swadesh Darshan Scheme was launched in 2014 to develop 13 thematic circuits including the Buddhist Circuit Krishna Circuit Spiritual Circuit and Ramayana Circuit Public and corporate funding via Social Responsibility CSR initiatives were pulled in to make this happen The 201819 Union Budget set aside Rs 1537 crore for integrated development of tourist circuits under two schemes Swadesh Darshan and the Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive PRASADMira Road resident Monika Jain was spurred to visit the Mahakal Temple in Ujjain after she saw videos of the new Ujjain Corridor Ayodhya is on her travel list for next yearAnd this investment stands on sturdy research A study in 2017 by Delhibased Lokniti Centre for Study of Developing Societies CSDS found that one in four Indians was oriented towards touring religious places Close to 60 per cent of domestic tourism is driven by this religious fervour In 2022 India earned over R134 lakh crore through religious tourism to sites such as Tirupati Varanasi Shirdi and Kedarnathmdasha 106 per cent growth from 2021 And unlike other types of travel and tourism religious tourism targets every age and income group claiming the largest marketTomorrow Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the consecration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya in the presence of people from all over the world Flights are sold out and hotels chockfull weeks in advance The fervour is not just limited to Ayodhya All over India small saffron envelopes containing grains of rice are being handdelivered door to door Flags are being put up decorative arches are being erected and small idols of Lord Ram have been temporarily installed in housing societies The religionheavy conversation has had a direct and deep positive impact on religious tourismAbhishek BiswasBuilt at the cost of approximately Rs 1800 crore the temple is anticipated to attract over 100000 visitors every day To handle this footfall the Uttar Pradesh governmentrsquos growth plan seeks investment of over Rs 85000 crore till 2031 to develop the city Tourism data collected by the state government holds that 23 million tourists went to Ayodhya in 2022mdashnew records are anticipated now that the templersquos construction is completeAnd the hospitality has cast its net wide to gather fishTo support the new importance in this tourism sector the Ayodhya Development Authority has cultivated five tent cities with private players They have been strategically established at various locations by both the Shri Ram Mandir Teerth Kshetra Trust and the Ayodhya Development Authority according to Mukesh Meshram Principal Secretary of State TourismJanhvi Kapoor and Sara Ali Khan at Kedarnath in November 2023 Observers say that watching Bollywood figures visit these destinations makes a yatra aspirational for the common man right Sara Ali Khan during a temple vsit last yearOne of them Tent City Ayodhya has been developed by Gujaratbased Praveg Ltd at Brahma Kund and Saryu within walking distance of the Ram Lalla temple It houses 30 to 35 airconditioned tents vegetarian cuisines Ram Leela performances in the evening and shuttle services to religious places Praveg Ltd has also developed the tent city across the Ganga from Assi Ghat in Varanasi The most premium of the tents the 900sqft Ganga Darshan Villas boast private river front beach and plunge pools on the sandy banks It was inaugurated by PM Modi in January 2023 It is not yet operationalEarlier this year Lemon Tree hotels announced that they are setting up a new luxury hotel in Somnath ldquoIn general most pilgrim locations are seeing an uptick We already have operating hotels in key locations such as Dwarka Katra Haridwar Rishikesh and Amritsar and have also signed new hotels in Tirupati Somnath and Badrinathrdquo says Mahesh Aiyer CEO Carnation Hotels the management arm of Lemon Tree ldquoSpiritual tourism is usually less susceptible to recession and market downturns and hence provides potential for the travel and tourism industry With numerous pilgrim destinations in the country a number of which have relatively fewer branded hotels we see great potential for the growth of branded rooms and are actively discussing and pursuing potential partnerships to establish our footprint in more citiesrdquoSales professional Nimish Gandhi standing yellow kurta and his entire extended family in pic leave for Char Dham Yatra this week They are already looking forward to visiting the Ram Temple in Ayodhya in OctoberAnd not just hospitality the change has seeped into the food industry as well Earlier this month the ITC Royal Vega group announced that their restaurant s in Chennai Ahmedabad and Kolkata had received a certification from the Sattvik Council of India an organisation that works with the Government of India for ldquofood safety and regulatory compliance for vegetarian and allied adherentsrdquo The same council also certified the Ramayana Expressrsquo catering two years agoldquoThe increased focus on rediscovering heritage and engaging in religious tourism has indeed influenced a growing preference for vegetarian vegan Jain and Buddhist foodrdquo says founder Abhishek Biswas ldquoToday individuals are increasingly conscious of what they are eating and how it is processed An individual sitting in the train or staying at a hotel during their visits to sacred sites often involves a deep connection with cultural traditions and spiritual practices As individuals embark on these journeys there is a heightened awareness of the need for purity and wholesomeness in every aspect of the experience including the food consumed during the pilgrimagerdquoMahesh Aiyer CEO Carnation Hotels management arm of Lemon Tree hotelsThe population concurs While Ayodhya has been spotlighted other religious spots too are seeing an uptickOn 17 January the Shree Mandir Parikrama Prakalpa was inaugurated in Odisha around Purirsquos Shree Jagannath Temple The 75metrewide heritage corridor has spaces marked for ceremonial processions of deities throughout the year and for devotees to circumambulate the Shree Mandira complex A 10metre public convenience zone holds restrooms drinking water facilities cloakrooms and a police kiosk The entire project cost Rs 800 crore and with monthlong activities to promote it the bill comes to Rs 943 crore They expect five lakh visitors a day for a weekThis week Kandivlibased sales professional Nimish Gandhi 41 leaves for a Char Dham yatra And later in the year Ayodhya is on the cards As he will be taking his aged mother and children he has decided to visit in October when it will be less crowded ldquoOf course the atmosphere in the country helpsrdquo he says ldquoAnd why not if it leads you to reconnect with God and spend a few moments of solace in a templerdquoFormer president Ram Nath Kovind using an Aikyam charter The firm charters flights to Char and Do Dham Its CEO says that the increase is triple of what it was before 2020 and much of it is thanks to PM Modi who has visited Kedarnath five times in his two terms in officeMira Road resident Monika Jain too has added Ayodhya to her next year itinerary But she says itrsquos not just the conversations but that the infrastructure around such sites has been upgraded which makes travel easier and more convenient For example she went to Ujjain last year after videos of the new Mahakal Corridor were shown on the news The Corridor which covers nearly 200 idols was constructed at a cost of Rs 351 crore and thrown open to the public in 2022 ldquoIt was beautifulrdquo she says ldquoMy daughter is very young right now and I am uncomfortable with crowds But next year I am definitely going to AyodhyardquoWith the increased footfalls come the increased facilities and opportunities with a twistmdashheritage walks tent cities chartered helicopter tours and cycle toursIn 2021 the Uttar Pradesh state culture department and the Ayodhya district administration announced six religiouscultural tours and heritage walks spanning 10 km to 170 km The annual Deepotsava has been getting Ayodhya a lot of attention This year it set a new Guinness World record with 2223 lakh diyas litSince COVID there has been a surge in religious pilgrimage to the already popular sites of Char and Do Dham and is seeing a mixed crowd of young and old people Mayank Verma Head of Operations at Aikyam General Aviation that charters flights to Char Dham among other pilgrimage places says that the increase is as much as triple of what it was before 2020 ldquoMuch of this is due to PM Modirdquo says Sanjiv Kashyap CEO Aikyam General Aviation The Prime Minister has visited Kedarnath five times in his two terms in office and an unprecedented number of tourists have followed to the Char Dhams of Kedarnath Badrinath Yamunotri and Gangotri This season the number is at nearly 30 lakhTo Verma the trend is also set at least for the young by the frequent visits by film celebrities Akshay Kumar for one visited BadrinathKedarnath in May last year Janhvi Kapoor started the year with a visit to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam on January 5 and in November last year was seen at Kedarnath with friend and actor Sara Ali Khan ldquoWith this surgerdquo says Verma ldquofacilities at these placesmdashroads hotels connectivitymdashkeep improving every yearrdquoThe Gole family makes it a point to include a visit to a religious site into their annual family holiday Especially to those connected to Lord Shiva Last year while they were headed to Varanasi they decided to stop by at Lucknow and Ayodhya ldquoWe thought wersquod see the temple as it was being constructedrdquo says 32yearold model and canine behaviourist Shruti Gole She travelled with her mother father brother and sisterinlaw from Pune and Panchgani in August last year ldquoWe were a bit afraid to go before due to security issues and when we went the hospitality arrangements were not so good We will surely go in 2025 because the prices for everything will be too high this yearrdquoArti Agarwal and her husband have already planned their trip to Mangalore and Udipi in March On the itinerary are temples dedicated to the Sri Krishna Matha and the Kullur Mookambika Temple Udipi city is home to eight mathas Agarwal has always been a spiritual tourist and chronicles her pilgrimages on Instagram as My Yatra Diary artisdiary The 37yearold moved from her native Rajasthan to Bhayendar 14 years ago and says she has seen in spurt in religious tourismmdashgauging by the inquiries and followers on social mediamdashin the past two years ldquoI think more people even young ones enjoy a touch of spirituality to their travel these days And the government is also investing in building suitable infrastructure For instance last year an International Temples Convention and Expo was held in Varanasi in July that was attended by delegates from all over the world to exchange ideas and lsquodiscuss key factors to empower the temple management ecosystemrsquordquoVidhya Thakkar had a tough 2022 and wanted to do something peaceful for her birthday in March ldquoI felt like getting closer to Godrdquo says the Kandivli resident So she her parents her 23yearold brother aunt and uncle went on a Char Dham trip and brought in her 27th birthday in March 2023 at Kedarnath A part of the trip Kedarnath to Badrinath was by helicopter ldquoI felt so free and so much at peacerdquo she says This year shersquos already set her sights on Brindavan and Ayodhya ldquoWersquore already excited by looking at the pictures of the temple and the light showrdquo she says ldquoand plan to go around DiwalirdquoBandodkar meanwhile is busy packing for Ayodhya She says it the visit was ldquowrittenrdquo in her destiny ldquoWe got flight tickets at the last minute and even accommodation was sortedmdasha new Airbnb opened up the same day that I went online to lookrdquo she tells us excitedlyShe and her husband are excited to attend the consecration and Bandodkar has already made up her mind to go back to Ayodhya with Bijli at a later date ldquoIrsquove been biking since 2012rdquo she says ldquoToday I feel as if this is the reason why I fell in love with biking in the first placerdquoRs 134L crAmount India earned in 2022 from religious tourism to sites like Tirupati Varanasi Shirdi and Kedarnathmdasha 106 per cent jump from 2021200Number of idols Ujjainrsquos new Mahakal Corridor covers it was constructed at a cost of R351 crore and thrown open to the public in 2022