Kashi Tamil Sangamama: Musical performances dedicated to Lord Ram

Varanasi: Musical performances at the ghats of the Ganga here in Uttar Pradesh enthralled those attending the Kashi Tamil Sangamam, with narrations celebrating the legacy of Lord Ram being the highlight of the programmes.

The sangamam that was aimed at rediscovering the age-old links between Tamil Nadu and Kashi -- two of the country's ancient seats of learning -- concluded on Saturday, weeks ahead of the "Pran Prartishtha", or the consecration ceremony, of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, around 218 km from here.

The 14-day event was attended by 1,400 delegates from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, besides people from Varanasi and culture enthusiasts from different parts of country.

Earlier this week, Pandit Devrat Mishra from the Banaras Gharana had dedicated a "bandish" to Lord Ram during his team's performance at the Namo ghat during the sangamam. "I had composed the 'bandish' 10 years ago and I sung it on a public platform because the Ram temple is now a reality...the song is about birth of Lord Ram...'Awadh me kaisi dhoom machi hai, Ram naam ne liye avtar' (there are celebrations in Awadh as Ram has taken birth)," Mishra told PTI.

Using three sitars, a dholak, a flute and the tabla, Mishra and his team presented several songs celebrating the legacy of Lord Ram, leaving the audience enthused.

"People in Varanasi are extremely excited about the consecration ceremony next month. We will be celebrating it on the ghats of Varanasi on January 22 when the grand celebrations will be going on in ayodhya," he said.

Trustee at the Kashi Vishwanath temple here, K Venkata Ramana Ghanapati, echoed Pandit Mishra's views about the excitement in Varanasi about the consecration ceremony.

"It is like an upcoming festival...there is excitement here too...generations have waited for this. I will also be travelling to Ayodhya during that time and will be participating in some rituals a few days ahead of the 'Pran Pratistha'," Ghanapati said.

The delgates who participated in the Kashi Tamil Sangamam also visited Ayodhya and the under-construction temple there.

The 1,400 delegates were divided into groups named after seven sacred rivers of the country and each comprises 200 members -- students' group (Ganga), teachers' group (Yamuna), professionals' group (Godavari), spiritual group (Saraswati), group of farmers and artisans (Narmada), writers' group (Sindhu) and group of traders and businessmen (Kaveri).

More than 42,000 people had registered till December 8 to attend the sangamam, of which 1,400 were selected by a committee.

Prime Minister Modi on Saturday unveiled a "new look old" city in Ayodhya with an airport, a revamped train station and projects worth Rs 15,700 crore ahead of the consecration of the Ram temple next month.

The first phase of the temple is nearing completion, and the prime minister will take part in the consecration ceremony on January 22.

The Supreme Court delivered a historic verdict in 2019, settling a temple-mosque dispute that went over a century back. The court backed the construction of the Ram temple at the disputed site, and ruled that an alternative five-acre plot must be found for building a mosque.