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Ayodhya
Fifty traditional musical instruments from across the country were part of a devotional ‘Mangal Dhwani’ that played during the consecration ceremony at the newly constructed Ram temple in Ayodhya. Orchestrated by Ayodhya’s celebrated poet Yatindra Mishra, the grand musical rendition was supported by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi.
The instruments included pakhawaj, flute, and dholak from Uttar Pradesh, veena from Karnataka, algoja from Punjab, sundari from Maharashtra, mardala from Odisha, santoor from Madhya Pradesh, pung from Manipur, nagada and kali from Assam; and tambura from Chhattisgarh. There was also shehnai from Delhi, ravanahatha from Rajasthan, shrikhol and sarod from West Bengal, ghatam from Andhra Pradesh, sitar from Jharkhand, santar from Gujarat, pakhawaj from Bihar, hudka from Uttarakhand and nagaswaram, tavil and mridangam from Tamil Nadu.
There were musical performances by Sonu Nigam, Anuradha Paudwal and Shankar Mahadevan who sang songs dedicated to Lord Ram.
Music has found another significant place in the heart of temple town as an iconic roundabout is named after legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar. A giant ornate 14 ft long veena sculpture weighing 14 tonnes is placed at the centre of the roundabout. The Lata Mangeshkar Chowk marks the intersection of Ram Path and Dharm Path.
