🛕🇮🇳 Temples Will Build Modern India...

One Year Since The Mandir

Dear Reader,

Remember when critics demanded a school or hospital at the Ram Janmabhoomi instead of a temple? A year after the Pran Pratishtha, numbers tell a different story. Ayodhya now surpasses the Taj Mahal, drawing 13.55 crore tourists annually.

R. Jagannathan explains: while a school might benefit a few hundred children annually, Ayodhya has sparked mass cultural awareness and hyper-economic growth. Ayodhya is witnessing what the Chola temples did centuries ago: the fusion of commerce and culture.

Read Jaggi's full piece here — India Will Build New Temples, And These Temples Will Build New India.

My colleague Nishtha's story from the ground attests to this rapid infrastructure development:

- A new international airport connecting six cities

- Railway capacity increased sixfold to 60,000 passengers daily

- A 67-km ring road in progress

“Roads are much better now, and incomes are rising,” says local resident Praveen Sahu. Here's a link to her report — Ayodhya’s Winding Journey To Becoming A Tourist Hub

However, not everyone embraced the temple. Rahul Gandhi even declared, only a few months later, that Ayodhya movement has been defeated. Stranger than fiction are our LoP's utterances.

My colleague Abhishek's piece talks about how the INDI Alliance still struggles with the temple narrative.

While Gandhis stayed away, some Congress leaders like Vikramaditya Singh and Nirmal Khatri attended anyway. Arvind Kejriwal played both sides – skipping the ceremony but later organizing Sundarkand recitals. Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee led an "all-faith harmony rally" that ended, tellingly, in Muslim-dominated Park Circus.

Here's Abhishek's full story — A Year Later, INDI Alliance Is Yet To Come To Terms With The Ram Temple.

Beyond religion, politics, economics, or tourism, Sumati Mehrishi captures a rather unusual and unnoticed cultural shift — shehnai's spiritual rebirth.

Traditionally Kashi's, the instrument found its spiritual rebirth in Ayodhya during the ceremonies. It achieved what Pandit Durga Prasad calls "catharsis". How?

Here's what Sumati Mehrishi has to say about the shehnai's moment in the Pran Prathishtha and since — What Shifted For The Shehnai On 22 January 2024.

To mark the Ram Mandir’s anniversary, we've curated these and more stories for you in a special print edition — A Year After Mandir.

P.S. When you're in Ayodhya visiting Ram Mandir, do check out the new glass mystery house based on the theme of searching for Devi Sita after she was kidnapped.

Until tomorrow,

- Anmol N Jain