Ayodhya: As Ayodhya buzzes with anticipation of the Pran Pratistha ceremony of the Ram temple on January 22, the beautifully carved stones installed in the temple of Lord Shri Ram have been carved in Ayodhya over the years and the work is being looked after by 84-year-old Annu Bhai Sompura of Ahmedabad. It is done by Annu Sompura, a master stone carver and supervisor of Shri Ram Mandi construction workshop, who came to Ayodhya in 1990.
A skilled stone carver and supervisor of the Shri Ram Mandi construction workshop and he always had the hope that a temple of Shri Ram would be built. With this hope, he has been monitoring the stone carving work for years.
“I came to Ayodhya in 1990. Architect CB Sompura ji had sent me here. CB Sompura ji asked me to take five artisans and talked to the artisans. When I asked the artisans to accompany me to Ayodhya, no one was ready. Come to the city because artisans were afraid to come but now 200 artists work here,” he told ANI on Sunday.
Sompura further said, “After that, my younger brother and one of my sons, all three of us came here.” He further said that when people saw that the stone carving work was going on slowly, a stone cart also arrived and artisans also started coming.
This number reached at least 150 people in Ram temple. The stones also came from Bansipalpur village in Rajasthan. The age of these stones installed in the temple of Lord Shri Ram is 1000 years, it is visible even from a distance.” It is also being examined and the carvings on it also look good, so this stone was passed and it was decided that the temple will be built with these stones only and all the carvings on these stones have been done by hand,” They said.
He further said that at the age of 45 I came here from Ahmedabad, Gujarat and now I am 84 years old and I never thought that we would witness this moment.
He said, “I have been waiting for this moment and spent my whole life. We stood strong here. Governments came and went, but our work did not stop.”
He further said that this stone has been lying here for about 34 years and now the stones are being cleaned. With just over a week left for the grand opening of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, the city is being given a transformational makeover ahead of the much-awaited ‘Pran Pratishtha’ on January 22.
Some workers engaged in polishing stones spoke to ANI and expressed their happiness over the grand ceremonial inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Aarti, who has been polishing stones for 15 years, had tears of joy in her eyes and said, “We are very happy that we will see the idol of Lord Ram and I am happy that we have contributed in its construction.” Ram temple. For us this is a lifetime earning.”
Rita, another worker engaged in polishing the stones, said that the stones being installed in Ram Janmabhoomi provided employment not only to the men but also to the women of Ayodhya as they earn around Rs 400 to 500 per day by working every day.
He said, “We never thought that Ayodhya would progress so much, but today Ayodhya is continuously moving towards development.”
The ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony of Ram temple will take place on January 22. The Vedic rituals for the consecration ceremony of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya will begin on January 16, a week before the main ceremony.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is observing a fast till the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ of Shri Ram Lalla at his birthplace in Ayodhya, will preside over the inauguration of the grand temple on January 22. Several tent cities are being built in Ayodhya to accommodate the devotees who are expected to descend on the temple town in Uttar Pradesh for the grand ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony.
