Agra, Oct 8 (SocialNews.XYZ) Agra is all set to welcome north India’s most spectacular Sri Ram Baraat, at the newly created Janak Puri, capital of King Janak, father of Sita.
This year the Janak Puri celebrations will last a full eight days, instead of three, at the Sanjay Place commercial area, in the heart of the city.
From Sunday all roads in the Taj city will lead to the mythological Janak Puri, which will host the Sri Ram Baraat and solemnise the divine wedding to be witnessed by lakhs of local people.
The Janak Mahal has been modeled after the Ram temple in Ayodhya, while numerous arched gates and palaces replicate other well-known religious spots in the country. To add to the glitter and dazzle 30 beautifully decorated gates named after Rishis and characters of the Ramayan, have been put up at the entrances. More than 30 Jhankis at different spots in the sprawling complex will showcase different religious themes.
“Right now bhajans and Ramayan couplets were being aired through the public address system, enriching the spiritual ambiance of the event,” Gajendra Sharma, a key member of the organising committee said.
The busy Sanjay Place commercial complex which was developed by shifting the Central Jail during the Emergency at the orders of the late Sanjay Gandhi, has been transformed into a fairyland, with massive gates and colourful lights.
Chaturbhuj Tiwari, an office bearer of the Sky Tower Computer market, said: “For the past one week massive repair and maintenance work has been going on in different parts to enable lakhs of people from all over to visit Janak Puri and pay obeisance to the god Ram and his consort Sita.”
MPs and MLAs have been descending here and the whole municipal corporation is engaged in beautification of the area, Tiwari added.
This year’s King Janak is PL Sharma who said the ceremonies had begun Sunday afternoon with the Haldi ki Rasm. On Monday, the processions of Raja Janak and Sri Ganesh will meander through the main bazaars of Agra. On Tuesday, Princess Sita will move in a procession for a visit to the city. The bidai ceremony of Sita ji will be held on October 14.
For the benefit of the people, there would be a Bhajan night at the Shoe market mandapam. Later next month, the organising committee will conduct a mass marriage programme for 101 couples at the GIC ground.
The Ram Baraat will reach Janakpuri in the wee hours of Wednesday, with full fanfare, dozens of brass bands, orchestras, camels, horses and grand regalia of sorts.
The Agra Ram Lila Baraat is the grandest in north India, started way back in 1880. Over a million people from neighbouring districts spend the night in Agra and cinema halls run extra shows for them.
The Ram Baraat continues to draw lakhs from the rural hinterland who crowd up the roadside, balconies, and rooftops, as the mile-long wedding procession headed by a dozen brass bands and numerous tableaux showing myriad Hindu gods and goddesses in all their splendour, meanders through the make-believe kingdom of Raja Janak.
The Baraat starts from the Ramlila ground near the Agra Fort, projected as the kingdom of Awadh, to the Janak Puri, capital of Raja Janak, father of goddess Sita, covering around 10 kilometres and consuming a whole night.
The procession exhibiting mythological characters as well as scenes with social and political messages is the most spectacular show in Agra and involves the whole city.
"This year's Janakpuri has broken all records in scale and magnitude."
The funds for the Sri Ram Baraat are raised by locals. Corporate houses often make generous contributions. The municipal corporation ensures that the street lights, roads and other facilities used for the baraat are in good shape. People said the original Janak Puri would have faded into insignificance before what has been created by artistes engaged to create palaces, durbars, walkways, and a central plaza.
Over the years the focus has shifted to Janak Puri where a mela of sorts is held for several days during which all the rituals connected with the marriage ceremony are performed. Each year the Janak Puri is built in a new locality or a colony which receives generous funds from the Nagar Nigam for the development of roads and streamlinging of civic amenities in the area. The mela attracts lakhs of people who not only participate and watch the proceedings but also indulge in shopping from hundreds of stalls that come up at the site.
Source: IANS
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