Chants of 'Jai Shri Ram', Beats of Dhol Echo the Skies of New York's Times Square | Watch

New York - Chants of ‘Jai Shri Ram' and the beats of dhol echoed the skies of New York's Famous Times Square as the world embraced the inauguration of the historic Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. On Sunday (local time), members of the Indian diaspora reached New York's iconic location to celebrate the Grand Pran Pratishta Ceremony which will be conducted thousands of miles away in India. Similar grand celebrations were conducted by the Indian community in countries like the UK, Nepal, Mexico, Australia, etc. The celebrations became grander hours after the members of the ‘Oversees Friends of Ram Mandir’ distributed laddoos at Time Square. 

Not only this, some of the humongous screens at New York's famous and celebrated spot also featured beautiful images of Lord Rama indicating the far reach of India's influence. Prem Bhandari, one of the members of the organisation said that the grand Pran Pratishtha event is being celebrated with much fanfare across the United States. In the past few days, multiple rallies and light shows were conducted across the country to commemorate the historic ceremony. "We never thought that we would witness this divine day in our lifetime. The Pran Pratishtha ceremony will take place very soon. People in Times Square are also celebrating this and the place is looking no less than Ayodhya. People of the Indian diaspora are celebrating this event at various places," Prem Bhandari told the ANI on Sunday. "Lord Ram is returning after 'vanvaas' (exile) and all this is taking place due to the leadership of PM Modi. He has made the whole atmosphere in 'Rammay' across the world. He has connected not just 140 crore people but the Indian diaspora abroad too with this event. This day is no less than Diwali," he added. Bhandari went on to laud Prime Minister Narendra Modi for connecting people across the globe for the event. As per the reports, the Indian diaspora in the United States has planned dozens of events across the country to celebrate the grand spectacle.  

Billboards go up across America

Several events are lined up in New York, Boston, Washington DC, Los Angeles and San Fransisco to celebrate the historic event. Meanwhile, billboards have gone up in Texas, Illinois, New York, New Jersey and Georgia to raise awareness about the significance of the event. The US chapter of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) collaborated with other Hindu communities to set up more than 40 billboards across 10 states, ANI reported. Meanwhile in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to perform rituals marking the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ and a team of priests led by Lakshmikant Dixit will lead the main rituals in Ayodhya. The event is also expected to be attended by special guests from the cricket world, the film world, saint society, politics, art, literature, culture and other fields as well.