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Slough Hindu Temple, located thousands of miles away from Ayodhya in the heart of England, is brimming with enthusiasm as it is set to celebrate the 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.
The excitement around the ceremony is palpable in the UK. There are about 250 Hindu temples in the UK and all of them are gearing up for the celebration on January 22. From community events to car rallies, and from special 'aarti' to 'Akhanda Ramayan' recitation, the Hindu communities and temples in the UK are celebrating the occasion as "2nd Diwali" to mark the 'return' of Lord Rama to his rightful abode. Scores of volunteers from the Indian Diaspora in the UK (IDUK) organisation are working day in and day out to decorate the temple for the big day when the temple is deemed to receive around 4000-4500 visitors to celebrate the day. A special 'puja' and bhajan will also be organised on January 22. Naresh Saraswat, the head priest at Slough Hindu Temple said that they are trying to create a similar atmosphere like Ayodhya here in West of London on January 22. Speaking to ANI, the head priest said, "On January 22, the rituals will start at 11 am. Till 7 pm, bhajan, kirtan and other programmes will be done. The 'aarti' will be performed at 7 pm and after that langar and prasad will be distributed. Everyone will also be given the 'mahaprasad' laddu before returning". "The Akshat (blessed rice) has reached the temple from Ayoshya. Some portion of it will also be given to all the devotees who will come here," he added. The idols of Lord Rama, Lord Lakshman and Mata Sita have already been adorned with new dresses brought from India. The biggest enthusiasm is about the 250kg of laddoos that are being prepared and brought to the temple to be distributed amongst the devotees. Volunteers, including women, men and even children are spending hours in turn packing laddoos and boxing them for the big day. Hirdesh Gupta, the co-founder of the Indian Diaspora in the UK said, "We are expecting around 4000-5000 people to come here on January 22. The excitement is so high that it seems like even bigger than Diwali. Even though, we are not in India, but there is even higher excitement". Alok Gupta, co-founder of Indian Diaspora in the UK said, "Around 250 kg of laddoos have arrived today, and 100 kg will come tomorrow. So we will distribute 300-400 kg laddoos as 'prasad'. It was not easy but the team is working with high enthusiasm. It is a festive atmosphere here". Ajay Mururkar, another co-founder of IDUK, said, "The akshat has reached here from Ayodhya. We have mixed it with more rice and ghee. We will box it into packets and distribute among the devotees on January 22, so that they can keep with them at their homes". The 'Mangal Kalash' from Ayodhya that is touring the UK will reach the Slough Hindu Temple on Sunday, January 21, a day before the big day and shall be placed in this temple on January 22. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to attend the ceremonial installation of the idol of Shri Ram Lalla inside the sanctum sanctorum of the grand temple on January 22. A host of leaders and dignitaries from all walks of life have been invited to the grand temple opening in Ayodhya. Vedic rituals for the Pran-Pratishtha ceremony of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya began on January 16, a week before the main ceremony. The idol of Ram Lalla was placed in the 'Garbha Griha' of the Ram Temple on Friday amid joyous chants of 'Jai Shri Ram.' Varanasi priest Lakshmi Kant Dixit will officiate the main rituals during the 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony, while PM Modi will also perform rituals at the ceremony. (ANI)
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