On Thursday workers were busy fixing bamboo poles at the Hanuman Temple on the sides of the lane. They were making preparations for the celebrations to be held on January 22 — the day when consecration will take place at the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
The now quiet Risaldar Galli was abuzz with activities in the 1990s.‘Kar sevaks’, who came from the neighbourhood homes, kept the buzz alive through the day and night.
The temple, now a brick-and-mortar structure, was a source of motivation for the locals those days, says Niranjan Risaldar, a young boy at that time, and now publicity in-charge of the VHP at Nagpur. He grew up in the Risaldar Galli.
“Those days only an idol of Lord Hanuman was kept on a platform along the street. There was no upkeep of the place. It was believed to have been there since the Bhonsala times. The entire neighbourhood was emotionally involved with the Ayodhya temple issue. It was decided that along with fighting for Ayodhya temple, shrines close to our homes, which remained neglected, should be restored too,” he says.
It was decided to restore the temple and a permanent structure was built with people’s contribution, says Risaldar.
Even before that, the small temple was the venue for numerous meetings of ‘kar sevaks’. The police had opened fire on ‘kar sevaks’ in Ayodhya in 1990. At that time Mulayam Singh of Samajwadi Party was the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.
“Weeklong events were held at the temple to condemn the Ayodhya incident. The locals prayed for good sense should prevail upon Singh,” says Risaldar.
Later, ‘kar sevaks’ who had been to Ayodhya in 1990 used to narrate their experience to the locals near the temple. One of them was the former mayor and senior BJP leader Daya Shankar Tiwari, Risaldar says. Towards 1992 it was decided to build a Hanuman temple. The Hanuman idol that was in the open was placed inside a new temple built at the same place, says Risaldar.
“The temple is on our land,” says Ravindra Palsapure. “We shifted to the Risaldar Galli after 1992. However, before that I got the temple built. The money was contributed by the entire neighbourhood,” says Palsapure.
“A number of devotees gather here on every Hanuman Jayanti. We are Jains, still the temple is equally holy for us,” says Palsapure.