People watch dance performaces ahead of India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi's roadshow in Ayodhya.
Credit: Reuters Photo
Ayodhya: From the vibrant 'Dedhiya' dance of Uttar Pradesh to a colourful performance of 'Choliya' of Uttarakhand, folk colours of India were laid on the streets of Ayodhya on Saturday to welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the temple town on Saturday.
Modi who arrived at the Ayodhya airport around 11 am, held a roadshow from there en route to the redeveloped Ayodhya Dham Railway Station, which he inaugurated later.
Modi inaugurated the Maharshi Valmiki airport and the redeveloped Ayodhya railway station from where he flagged off two Amrit Bharat and six Vande Bharat trains – some virtually – on Saturday.
From the airport, his carcade passed through Ayodhya Bypass and then entered the main city through the prominent Dharm Path, which connects the bypass to the Lata Mangeshkar Chowk.
A large number of people had gathered on both sides of the barricaded streets, including along the Ram Path that leads to the railway station road.
The prime minister waved to the crowd, who tried to capture the moment on their phones.
As Modi's carcade moved towards the railway station, different groups of artistes from various parts of the country welcomed him.
While one group of women from Rajasthan performed 'Chakri' dance to lilting tunes, another troupe from Prayagraj performed the ancient folk dance form 'Dedhiya'.
Preeti Singh, lead dancer of the 'Dedhiya' group said, the dance form has 'connection with the life of Lord Ram', and is performed to 'ward off evil eyes'.
"It is believed that women of Prayagraj had performed 'Dedhiya' when Ram ji and others had returned from Lanka after Lanka Dahan. Now that Ram Lalla is getting a new temple, the divine feeling has returned, and so this performance," she told PTI.
Wearing colourful costumes and carrying a pot bearing a flickering lamp, women dancers twirled their 'lehengas' and whirled around to folk songs.
"We are about 16-17 artistes. 'Dedhiya' is done by sisters during Raksha Bandhan ward to keep the ‘evil eye’ at bay for brothers," said Pragya Tripathi, a dancer from Prayagraj.
The stretch of Ram Path which was a part of the route of Modi's carcade was decorated with flowers, especially the Lata Mangeshkar Chowk roundabout.
Special sun-themed ornamental columns – Surya Stambhs – installed recently on Dharm Path added to the festive atmosphere.
Huge posters bearing images of Modi and Ayodhya’s Ram temple, whose consecration ceremony will be held on January 22, were displayed at regular intervals along the carcade’s route.
'Dhobiya' dance by performers from Ghaziabad was also held on the PM’s route. 'Hathwa mey kalamia, gadi gadi hai ('the pen pinches the hand),' the vocalist sang as dancers wearing 'ghungroo' around waist performed to rustic tunes.
Women artistes from Ayodhya and Lucknow performed 'Badhawa', while a group of dancers from Uttarakhand grooved to 'Choliya' dance.
Shivani Pandey, a member of the troupe from Ayodhya carried a basket wrapped in a crimson cloth that bore repeated prints of 'Jai Shri Ram'.
Despite inclement weather, her 'mantika' shone bright as she performed the move.
"In Lord Ram's context, 'Badhawa' is a way of asking and giving gifts on happy occasions. 'Badhawa' is performed to celebrate births, 'mundan' ceremonies of children and weddings," lead dancer of Ayodhya troupe Rama Prajapati told PTI.
She came to the venue in biting cold, carrying her child along, who played with percussion instruments.
A troupe from Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh performed on a folk song on the beauty of Ayodhya, while artistes from Mathura-Vrindavan, presented the 'Mayur Nritya'.
Neer Thakur, who came dressed as Lord Krishna with a flute in his hand, grabbed eyeballs along the Dharm Path.
"We will show the peacock image of Lord Vishnu, and how Lord Krishna used to do 'Mayur Nritya' and his 'leela'," he said before Modi's roadshow began.
In a statement, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's office on Friday had said that more than 1,400 performers will be part of the folk art and cultural programmes to be held on 40 stages set up along the route from the airport to the railway station.