Ram Mandir consecration: In a humble gesture, the ‘Kinnar’ community in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly has announced that they will not insist on taking the customary gifts and money from the parents for blessing their children who are born on January 22, the day of the pran pratishtha of Ram Lalla in the Ayodhya temple. A member of the community said that they will visit the houses of the families whose children are born on the auspicious day and sing congratulatory songs.
“We will not ask for ‘neg’ (money or gifts) from these families for blessing their newborns, but gladly accept whatever they offer us," they said.
Sharda, a member of the community, who pays the school fees of five children from underprivileged families every year, said that they will send five lamps to each household in the area so that everybody can light lamps in their houses on January 22. Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also urged the people of the country to light Diyas on the day of the consecration ceremony of Ram temple.
“We are very fortunate to have darshan of Ram temple in our life. In the struggle that lasted about 500, many people passed away with an unfulfilled desire to see the temple of Lord Ram,” Sharda said.
Kinnars recall Lord Ram’s exile
They cited an instance from history that when Lord Ram was going to exile, everybody in Awadh started following him but on his request, everyone except for the Kinnars returned to Ayodhya.
The Kinnars sang hymns in praise of Lord Ram and worshipped him for the 14-year-period of his exile near the Tamsa river, and when he returned to Ayodhya, he was happy to witness their devotion towards him, Sharda said.
She further said that Lord Ram then gave them a ‘vardaan’ that if the Kinnars blessed the newborns by singing congratulatory songs, the children would prosper in life.
"Today it is by the grace of Lord Ram that we give blessings to children. After January 22, we will go to Ayodhya to have darshan of ‘Ram Lalla’," Sharda said.
Kinnars to distribute lamps
Naina Devi, another member of the community, said that they will visit to the grand temple after its inauguration day and also give gifts to the children born on January 22. “If nothing else, we will at least give a marigold flower,” she said.
She said that they will bless children from poor families.
“We have set a target of distributing one thousand lamps free of cost from door to door,” she said.
Another member of the community, Gauri said that they along with some friends will sing the devotional songs of Lord Ram in the trains on January 22, and will invite every passenger to go to Ayodhya after the consecration ceremony.
Standing at Bareilly Junction, Shweta said that her team will give 50 kg of marigold flowers, as an invitation to the passengers on the train for a week.
(With PTI inputs)
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