A gathering of Indian diaspora in New York's Times Square marked the celebration of the Prana Pratishtha or the consecration ceremony just before the inauguration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on 22 January.
The event began with billboards in Times Square displaying visuals of the Hindu Lord Ram accompanied by the text "Visit India (Bharat)." The festivities unfolded at a modest table featuring a board with images of the temple and Lord Ram, along with some tunes of Hindi Bollywood songs.
As the festivities rapidly expanded, the crowd grew and transitioned to the iconic red stairs of Times Square. There, attendees chanted slogans such as "Jai Shree Ram" (Hail Lord Ram) and "Ramlala hum aayenge, darshan karne aayenge" (Ramlala, we will come to see and worship you) amongst many others.
The diverse crowd, spanning various age groups, including children, actively participated in the slogans while adorned in orange attire or scarves, symbolizing their faith. The celebration also featured individuals with dhols and cymbals, with people around contributing with dance and excitement.
Dr. Aayushi Biswas from Assam, a participant in the congregation said, “We miss our homeplace and we miss the Ayodhya function. If we were in India we would have surely went to Ayodhya. Since it’s not possible, we just came here to celebrate it.”
Among the participants, there were also individuals dressed flamboyantly. Among the participants, one individual stood out with their "Shree Ram" glasses, while many others held up posters to express their support for the occasion.
On the other side of the event, the advocacy group Hindus for Human Rights projected counter-messages to express their disapproval. The large projection on the W hotel building in Times Square mentioned, “Don’t weaponise faith. BJP builds temples but destroys democracy.”
(Tehsin Pala is a graduate student at New York University, pursuing a joint master’s degree in Global Journalism and International Relations. She mainly writes about minorities, especially women.)
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