AYODHYA: The idol of Ram Lalla to be installed in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple will remain a closely guarded secret till the Ram temple consecration at 12.20pm on January 22, according to people associated with the ‘pran pratishtha’ ceremony.
Nobody would get to witness the face of the idol before the deity is finally enshrined as the lord of Ayodhya on his original seat after almost 500 years, sources involved in the preparations for the consecration ceremony said.
They said that as no photograph or video of the three idols out of which one would be placed in the ‘girbh griha’ would be available, the official announcement on the selected idol would not make much difference as the disclosure would only reveal whether white marble or black granite has been used to carve the idol.
Sources said that the details of the proposed nagar yatra of January 17 were yey to be worked out.
A member of Ram temple trust, Kameshwar Choupal, said, “So far, only an outline of the consecration ceremony has been prepared and details will be finalized soon. Concerns related to security arrangements and crowd management have been flagged by local officials and we will have to revisit our action plan. Besides, construction work will also be on around that time.”
Another source said that the trust members were of the view that ‘nagar yatra’ should be carried out during early morning hours, preferably at the break of the dawn, to avoid crowding.
“Security vehicles will be deputed around the chariot and the throne of the lord, in all likelihood, would be covered from three sides to discourage photography or videography during the yatra if it is taken out with the selected idol,” he added.
Choupal reiterated that the trust members would unanimously select the idol and everybody would be taken on board.
“The president and general secretary of the trust would make the announcement when the idol is finally selected. Opinion of all the 11 trust members was taken on December 29 but we have decided to involve ‘acharyas’ and senior priests before taking the final call as they have thorough knowledge of religious practices and customs which would eventually turn the idol into a lord,” said Choupal.
Meanwhile, the trust is also trying to ascertain how many guests and dignitaries other than seers and saints attending the event would stay overnight in Ayodhya to identify suitable accommodations to make their stay comfortable.
Nobody would get to witness the face of the idol before the deity is finally enshrined as the lord of Ayodhya on his original seat after almost 500 years, sources involved in the preparations for the consecration ceremony said.
They said that as no photograph or video of the three idols out of which one would be placed in the ‘girbh griha’ would be available, the official announcement on the selected idol would not make much difference as the disclosure would only reveal whether white marble or black granite has been used to carve the idol.
Sources said that the details of the proposed nagar yatra of January 17 were yey to be worked out.
A member of Ram temple trust, Kameshwar Choupal, said, “So far, only an outline of the consecration ceremony has been prepared and details will be finalized soon. Concerns related to security arrangements and crowd management have been flagged by local officials and we will have to revisit our action plan. Besides, construction work will also be on around that time.”
Another source said that the trust members were of the view that ‘nagar yatra’ should be carried out during early morning hours, preferably at the break of the dawn, to avoid crowding.
“Security vehicles will be deputed around the chariot and the throne of the lord, in all likelihood, would be covered from three sides to discourage photography or videography during the yatra if it is taken out with the selected idol,” he added.
Choupal reiterated that the trust members would unanimously select the idol and everybody would be taken on board.
“The president and general secretary of the trust would make the announcement when the idol is finally selected. Opinion of all the 11 trust members was taken on December 29 but we have decided to involve ‘acharyas’ and senior priests before taking the final call as they have thorough knowledge of religious practices and customs which would eventually turn the idol into a lord,” said Choupal.
Meanwhile, the trust is also trying to ascertain how many guests and dignitaries other than seers and saints attending the event would stay overnight in Ayodhya to identify suitable accommodations to make their stay comfortable.