Karsevakpuram (Ayodhya): As the awestruck pilgrims follow, guide Amanjit Singh takes them around Karsevakpuram here showing the replica of temple of a grand Ram Temple on display and bricks with ‘Ram Naam’ inscribed on them. “The stone has been carved out of granite rocks brought from Banswara in Rajasthan and would soon be used to construct the temple,” says Singh, The pilgrims touch the stone and offer obeisance before leaving for a guided tour to other parts of the holy city.
On the eve of the 22nd anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition, here is a new type of tourism that has taken the sleepy town by storm — guided tour of the “making of the Ram temple.” Locals acting as guides show pilgrims and visitors how stones are being carved and how parts of the temple is being prepard block by block.
Singh was only eight years old when Babri Masjid was demolished in 1992 and a stone carving workshop come up at Karsevakpuram (city of volunteers) set up by Ram Janma Bhoomi Nirman Nyaas, a trust formed by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad in Ayodhya for carving and storing stones for construction of the Ram temple at the disputed site. As a child, he had no interest in the history or the Ram Temple movement but today the workshop is the most important place for him. “It’s my source of livelihood,” said Singh, who took up the job of guide just a couple of years ago and earns between Rs 200-500 a day depending on financial status of the pilgrims visiting the place where the promised grand temple is ‘taking shape’.
Like Singh, more than 800 guides in the city earn their living from people coming from across the country, even abroad, who come particularly to see the makeshift Ram Lala temple at the dispute site and the workshop, besides other places of worship. As one reaches the main market, the tour guides pounce on tourists and promise them “Snaan, Daan aur Darshan” (dip in holy Saryu river, offerings in temples and trip to the disputed site and workshop). The story of demolition can be heard several times a day with guides narrating the sequence of events in a dramatic way.
“Jhagda to 500 saal puraani hai magar is ki kahaani 22 saal pahle shuru hui thi…,” guide Gopal Tiwari tells a tourist group from Bhilwada Rajasthan, narrating the long story from the time the Babri masjid was constructed to its demolition, the quick recap of centuries in all of three minutes. He also tells them the unsubstantiated tale of how idols of Ram and Sita at the Ram Janki temple built by Ram Janma Bhoomi Nirman Nyaas were unearthed during the excavation and demolition of the masjid followed. These idols would be placed in the grand temple coming up, he adds and takes the visitors to a seer who has pledged not to consume food grains till the “homeless” Ram Lala gets the temple. “The seer is 110-year-old and for the past 22 years he has been on fruits and water only,” claims the guide.
Not just random visitors, even groups in planned trips focus on the scarred history. “Disputed site tops the places of interest list among tourists visiting Ayodhya. They are ready to spend any amount for a look,” says Prateek Hira, travel agency owner.
“Tourists from Europe particularly France and Germany inquire about Ayodhya trips while Girmitia Indians based in places like Trinidad and Tobago, The Netherlands and South Africa are regular visitors,” shares Manoj Dixit, expert in tourism studies at Lucknow University.
The stories these guides tell are “distorted myths” in the words of the local Teerth Purohit Samaj. “They are good examples of imaginative craftsmanship,” says Shri Nand Kumar Mishra alias Peda Baba, the general secretary of the priests’ body. “Guides say Janki Ghat was the place the palanquin carrying Sita stopped in Ayodhya after her wedding with Ram and was welcomed by her mothers-in-law. They also claim that Ram’s step-mother Kaykayee gifted the Kanak Bhavan to Sita here while Kaushalya presented her a Chooramani (piece of jewellery). The stories are interesting, but just myths. The land where the temple exists came up about 200 years ago when river Saryu changed its course and vacated the area,” he says.
True or false, these legends have contributed towards raising Ayodhya’s tourist count. Statistics show, 1.40 crore domestic and foreign tourists visited Ayodhya in 2013. The number crossed 1.20 crore this year so far and more are expected as a religious mela is underway. This is about twice the tourist foot fall in 2008 (85 lakhs). Tourists love these stories. “The trick lies in the mannerism. The narration takes you to the world of Ramanand Sagar and scenes from his tele-serials,” says Ashish Vatsal, a private executive who has visited Ayodhya twice.