Ayodhya ready for mega Diwali

Lucknow: Diwali in Ayodhya will not only be celebrated on a grand scale this week but will also make a bid for a mention in the Guinness book of world record by lighting 1.71 earthen diyas on Ram ki Paidi, a ghat on the Saryu river.

Consultations between local representatives of Guinness World Records and the state government have already been done.

When Lord Ram, in the local Ramlila, returns to Ayodhya after his 14-year exile in forest and Ayodhya celebrates Diwali to mark the occasion, it will be UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath who will welcome him in a traditional manner with “aarti” and “tilak” on October 18, which is chhoti Diwali.

Ram Manohar Lohia University in Faizabad is collaborating on the celebration of this special Diwali and the potters’ wheels in Ayodhya are working round the clock to prepare the 1.7 lakh diyas.

The lamps are being made in two patterns — that of the bow and arrow and the swastika.

“The purpose of targeting a world is to make it an event like “Barsana ki Holi” or “Dahi Handi” of Maharashtra. This is the beginning and Diwali celebrations in Ayodhya will be a grand affair every year now,” said Prof Man-oj Dixit, vice-chancellor of RML Avadh University.

Prof Dixit explained that for setting a world record, all lamps should be lit continuously for five minutes. With 10 per cent margin given by Guinness Reco-rds officials, at least 1.54 lakh lamps should remain lit for the duration.

Nischal Barut, the consultant coordinator for UP’s application to the Guinness Records, said, “The record for the largest display of oil lamps is presently held by Dera Sacha Sauda (of Gurmeet Ram Rahim fame). It was awarded in February 2016. I will be in Ayodhya for the next three days to help RML University file the application and orient the volunteers”.

More than 2,000 students from RML University and local schools and colleges will be part of the mega celebrations. Each student will light about 40 lamps. The first one will be lit by chief minister Yogi Adit-yanath, said an official.

The state government is going all out to ensure that Diwali celebrations in Ayodhya have never been this grandiose.

Officials have been instructed to decorate and illuminate prominent buildings along Saryu Ghat and adorn the 10,000-odd temples in the city.

Mr Adityanath and his ministerial colleagues will reach Ayodhya on October 18 to welcome the Ram Shobha Yatra. The chief minister will also address a gathering on the occasion.

Meanwhile, the Jaisinghpur Kumhariya village, a village of potters near Ayodhya, is working overtime since the past one week to make the diyas for the occasion.

Over one lakh diyas have already been made and dispatched and more than 60 families in this village are involved in making the diyas.

Vinod Prajapati, a potter whose entire family is busy making diyas for the event, said, “Goddess Lakshmi is being kind to us this year. The tradition of diyas was petering away and people were opting for electric light but now the tradition is being revived.”