Shri Ram and Ayodhya Mandir Celebrations on January 21st Ensure Full Sensory Overload for Houston
HOUSTON: Never before experienced day awaits Houstonians on Sunday, January 21st. Hindus of Greater Houston’s volunteers have been working feverishly to organize a phenomenal event to celebrate the Pran Prathishta of Shri Ram Temple in Ayodhya, India. While the actual ceremony in Ayodhya is on January 22nd at 11AM (IST), based on their various geographic locations, Hindu organizations across the world will synchronize the time of the local celebrations so they take coincide with the Pran Pratishtha ceremony in Ayodhya. Houston will therefore celebrate from 3:00 PM to 6:00 following which they will proceed to VPSS to join a live telecast from Ayodhya.
Carefully choreographed by the dedicated volunteers, some captivating events were organized ahead of the main event. On January 7th, Houston Hindus probably broke all records by organizing one of the largest and most successful car rallies in the US. A total of 216 cars and five motorbikes took part in the rally with over 500 riders. During the course of eight hours, the rally covered one hundred miles with stopovers at 13 temples where an estimated two thousand devotees welcomed the riders and participated in the puja and aarti.
History was made on January 10th when Houstonians woke up to a sight never before seen in the city- the skies of Houston were adorned by images of Shri Ram, one of the central Hindu deities, with Ayodhya Ram Temple as the backdrop on a billboard. Designed by Dr. Kusum Vyas of Living Planet Foundation, founder of Green Kumbh Yatra and Save Ram Setu Campaign, who conceived and executed the project with the help of Mr. Umang Mehta. “Several people have seen the billboard since it was up, with some stopping to offer prayers making the billboard a pilgrimage site in Houston. In addition to putting Hindus of Greater Houston on the map, the billboard aims to remind the community about the inauguration in the presence of saints and luminaries of the world on January 22nd in Ayodhya,” said Mr. Umang Mehta.
“This would be first time in history that Shri Ram and Ayodhya will be seen on a billboard in such a major city outside Bharat. It is located on one of the busiest prime locations of Houston, 4th largest city in United States. Over 1.2 million people will drive past this billboard each week and an estimated 30 million people will have darshan of Shri Ram over the next 30 days” said Mr. Vijay Pallod, Hindus of Greater Houston.
A grand celebration is being organized in Houston on January 21st to mark the momentous event. All are invited to join the event,” said Mrs. Thara Narasimhan, President of Hindus of Greater Houston.” “The chants of Jai Shri Ram and sounds of conches will ensure full sensory overload for each and every person present at the temples. It will be a treat for the body mind and soul as we feel the presence of Shri Ram among us”.
The event on Sunday, January 21st, will take place at Gujarati Samaj of Houston (GSH) located at 9550 West Bellfort Road. The program is scheduled to begin at 3:00PM. Adequatearrangements have been made to ensure ample parking for all guests and they are requested to arrive early to ensure smooth parking and seating.
The celebrations will commence with a grand parade around the GSH center with Ram Lalla Murti on the Ram Rajya Rath with sounds of conches ensuring full sensory overload, lighting of diyas by all attendees, recognition of several countries where Shri Ram is worshipped, interesting and creative talks by the youth, recognition of invited dignitaries and city officials, bhajans and cultural program and Maha Arti followed by snacks and tea.
All interested people are invited to register for this event by visiting https://form.jotform.com/233420629702148.
