Patna celebrates Ram Navami with religious fervour

Religious fervour met spectacle in the Bihar capital on Sunday when people came out on the streets to celebrate Ram Navami, having held themselves back for the past couple of years because of the raging COVID-19 pandemic.

Roars of ''Jai Sri Ram'' rent the air when flower petals were dropped around noon from drones on the nearly 200 feet tall tower of ''Mahavir Mandir'', the temple situated right next to the Patna Junction.

The temple administration has announced that its ''Kapaat'' (gates) will remain open for devotees, justifiably so in view of the seemingly interminable queues of men, women and children eager to have a ''Darshan''.

Communal harmony was on display as loudspeakers blaring out bhajans went silent when it was the turn of the muezzin to make a call for azan.

The temple has stood cheek by jowl with one of the largest mosques in the city, without any history of strife, and the people lived up to the tradition as they headed for ''Darshan'' or ''namaz'' during the month of Ramadan, with full respect for each other's faiths.

Celebrations were galore at various temples across the city and the festivities reached a crescendo in the evening with the ''Shobha Yatra'' - a procession in which artists roam through the streets disguised as Lord Rama, Sita and other characters from the epic ''Ramayana''.

The procession concluded at Dak Bungalow crossing where a host of dignitaries, including Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Sikkim Governor Ganga Prasad and Union Minister Giriraj Singh were among those present.

State minister and senior BJP leader Nitin Nabin, who has been organising the event for many years, was exultant.

''The Dak Bungalow Chowk has become Shri Ram Chowk today. Lord Rama pervades the very ambience,'' he told reporters, catching his breath.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)