UK: Indian diaspora celebrate ‘Pran Pratishtha’ with billboards, ‘bhandara’; special event by Oxford students

London: As the Pran Pratishtha ceremony of Ram Lalla was held in Ayodhya on Monday, the Indian diaspora in the United Kingdom also celebrated the momentous occasion in grand fashion.

The members of the diaspora adorned the city of London with digital banners reading ‘UK celebrates the homecoming of Bhagwan Ram in Ayodhya’.

While Londoners regaled at the saffron display on a busy Monday morning, the Hindu temples all across the UK (about 250) are celebrating the day with special puja, Bhandara, bhajan-kirtan, and hawan.

“Lord Ram is beyond any borders. He is an energy that touches the lives of all beings on earth globally. It is a proud day for us here in the UK as we celebrate the coming of Lord Ram,” Manish Tiwari, the founder and chairperson of Here and Now 365, a London-based multi-cultural agency said.

In the Southhall Ram Mandir in London, the members of the diaspora organised a ‘Bhandara’ (community feast) to celebrate the occasion and distributed different food items to the people.

“It’s a big moment today–the opening of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. We, the people in London, especially the Ram Temple in Southall, are very privileged. The Bhandara has been going on since 7 am in the morning; bread pakoras, jalebis, hot tea, kadhi chawal, bhajia. The youngsters and devotees have joined us from all over,” Gullu Anand, trustee of the Southall Ram Mandir said.

In a separate event, the Hindu Society at Oxford University and the department of the Centre for Hindu Studies organised a special event to celebrate the Pran Pratishtha ceremony in Ayodhya.

The event included the singing of the Ram Sankirtan Bhajan and the Hanuman Chalisa and concluded with an ‘aarti’. Students expressed joy and satisfaction regarding the construction of the temple.

Akshay, the President of the Oxford Hindu Society, elaborated upon the event saying, “Today, we celebrated the Pran Pratishtha ceremony. We performed pushpanjali, aarti and prasadam at the end. It feels amazing to be a part of an event like this.”

“Today is a very auspicious day for all the Indians and we celebrated the event with our fellow Hindus,” Saahas Arora, an Indian student from Prayagraj, said.

“The Pran Pratishtha ceremony is uniting Hindus around the world. Ram is close to everyone’s hearts and it is a day of celebration. Many events are taking place across the UK to celebrate the event,” Abhiraj Singh, a student of Indian origin said.

Students from and around the university took part in large numbers in this event. Members from various international communities also joined the Oxford Hindu Society in the celebration.

The students hailing from different parts of India enthusiastically took part in this event and expressed joy and satisfaction for the temple.

The Ram Lalla idol was unveiled at the Pran Pratishtha ceremony at Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on Monday, after the hour-long rituals in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who led the ceremony.

Stressing the significance of laying the foundation for India’s next millennium, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called upon the citizens to pledge towards building a strong, capable, grand, and divine India from this moment onward.

“We have to lay the foundation of India for the next one thousand years. Moving ahead from the temple, now all of us countrymen take an oath to build a strong, capable, grand and divine India from this very moment”, the Prime Minister exhorted the countrymen.

RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat, Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath were also present inside the sanctorum during the rituals.

Distinguished individuals from various domains, including cricket, film, saint society, politics, art, literature, culture, and other fields, attended the ceremony.