Diwali celebrations in Ayodhya: First Lady of South Korea in attendance, Yogi Adityanath may announce Ram statue

Diwali in Ayodhya is being celebrated in a grand manner, with the First Lady of South Korea, Kim Jung-sook in attendance and a cultural team from South Korea’s Busan showcasing a traditional dance performance. The celebrations of the Diwali festivities will also set a world record as three lakh diyas would be lit. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath is also likely to announce a grand 151-metre-tall statue of Lord Ram as a gift to the people living in the city. Kim Jung-sook, who arrived in India on Sunday on a four-day visit, will participate in Diwali festivities. She took part in the ground-breaking ceremony of a memorial for a Korean queen at Queen Hau Park. According to Korean legends, Princess Suriratna from Ayodhya had traveled to Korea, married king Kim Suro and become queen Heo Hwang-ok some 2,000 years ago.

South Korean first lady Kim-Jung Sook arrives at Queen Hau Park in Ayodhya #Diwali pic.twitter.com/MvelaHJian

— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) November 6, 2018

The main festivities are going to be held at the Ram Katha park where cultural programmes will be performed. A cultural team from South Korea’s Busan are set to showcase a traditional dance performance, adjacent to the site of the Queen Heo Hwang-ok Memorial as part of the ‘Deepotsav’ celebrations. A grand Aarti at Sarayu ghat will be performed in the evening. Three lakh earthen diyas, made by local potters, will then be lit at the Ram Ki Paidi which will be followed by a water show and fireworks.  Artists from Indonesia, Trinidad, and Russia are also set to perform the Ram Lila. The sand art of Lord Ram by renowned sand artist Sudarshan Patnaik was also unveiled at Ram Bazaar.

Preparations underway for #Deepotsav in Ayodhya today. South Korean First Lady Kim Jung-sook will take part in the the festival. #Diwali pic.twitter.com/ek3k39xHWk

— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) November 6, 2018

For the celebrations, multicoloured lights have been installed at various places in Ayodhya, illuminating the entire city. A statue of Lord Ram and Hanuman has also been installed at the ghats of the Sarayu river. Artists and enthusiasts from all over the country have gathered to participate to make the city beautiful for Diwali. Rangolis, artworks, sculptures and paintings can be seen everywhere in the city. The Diwali celebrations started early this year. On Monday, the celebrations began with a Ramlila performance by artists from Laos at Dr Rammanohar Lohiya Awadh University, Faizabad. Artists enacted the incident of Goddess Sita being kidnapped by Ravana. Laos culture was also reflected during the performance. Diwali celebrations in Ayodhya this time are taking place amid a growing chorus in the party and the Sangh Parivar for the construction of a temple at the Ramjanmabhoomi through an ordinance. Asserting that a Ram temple will be built in Ayodhya soon, Adityanath on Sunday had said that a piece of good news regarding this awaited devotees all over the country. The echoes of the controversial issue can be felt during the ‘Depotsav’ celebrations here, with Adityanath likely to announce a plan for the installation of a huge statue of Lord Ram on the banks of the Sarayu river in Ayodhya. The Akhil Bharatiya Sant Samiti, an umbrella body of Hindu seers, in New Delhi on Sunday had “directed” the Narendra Modi government to bring in a legislation or an ordinance to build the Ram temple in Ayodhya. The Supreme Court recently fixed the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute cases for the first week of January next year before an appropriate bench, which will decide the schedule of hearing. With inputs from agencies