Our Bureau
Washington, DC
With the much-awaited inauguration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya in India next month, members of the Hindu community in America have kicked off the celebrations to commemorate the event by organizing a car rally in a suburb of Washington DC.
The celebrations will be held over 1 month as the grand inauguration of Ayodhya’s Ram Temple is set for January 22, 2024. The foundation stone for the temple was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 5, 2020.
India’s Supreme Court verdict in 2019 paved the way for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, a city situated on the banks of the Sarayu River in Uttar Pradesh.
On Saturday afternoon, several community members gathered at the Shri Bhakta Anjaneya Temple in Ayodhya Way, near Frederick City Maryland, for the rally.
“After 500 years of struggle by Hindus, Bhagwan Shri Ram Mandir is being inaugurated and so we are organizing a historic celebration of the same in the Washington, DC area on January 20 next year with about 1,000 American Hindu families,” said Mahendra Sapa, the president of Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America DC chapter.
“The celebration will feature the enactment on the life of God Shri Ram by kids of various ages for about 45 minutes in a manner understandable to kids born in America,” he said.
Moreover, Sapa said, “The celebration will include Ram Leela, stories of Shri Ram, Hindu prayers to Shri Ram, bhajans (devotional songs) to Bhagawan Shri Ram and his family.”
Premkumar Swaminathan, Co-organiser and a local Tamil Hindu leader sang a song in praise of Lord Shri Rama in Tamil language and gave invitations to all families for the January 20 celebration in the USA as well as the actual inauguration in Ayodhya on January 22 next year.
Krishna Gudipati, the rally organiser invited all devotees of Shri Ram to celebrate the Ayodhya Mandir with a bigger car and motorbike rally. Ankur Mishra, a local Hindu leader explained the importance of the historic inauguration of Ayodhya Mandir for many Hindu generations and families to become model citizens of American culture.
