Ayodhya's grand Ram temple witnessed its first Holi celebration since its inauguration in January this year. A large number of devotees gathered early in the morning to partake in the festivities of offering colours and sweets to the Ram Lalla idol adorning the sanctum sanctorum of the temple.
The temple priests engaged in a ceremonial playing of Holi, accompanied by the traditional offerings of abir and gulal as part of the Raag Bhog rituals. Additionally, an array of 56 dishes was presented before the idol as prasad.
"Ramlalla is celebrating his first Holi after his consecration in the temple. His charming idol was decorated with flowers, gulaal has been applied on the forehead. On this occasion, the idol of Ram Lalla wore a pink dress," said Acharya Satyendra Das, chief priest of the temple.
The temple priests sang Holi songs along with the devotees and danced in front of the idol in celebration. The festivities extended beyond the temple's confines. Devotees could be seen gathering in huge numbers outside the temple's premises to celebrate Rangotsav as Holi fever gripped the ancient city of Ayodhya.
To regulate the massive influx of crowd, adequate security measures were put in place for a smooth darshan for devotees.
The Ram temple was thrown open to the public on January 23, a day after the much-celebrated consecration ceremony, presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and attended by a host of politicians and celebrities.
The construction of the Ram temple was initiated after a prolonged legal battle that concluded with the Supreme Court ruling in favour of the temple in November 2019.
Union home minister Amit Shah, who was in Ahmedabad as part of a Holi celebration programme, said that this year's Holi is ‘special’ for Lord Ram devotees across the world. "In a way, Holi is the symbol of the triumph of truth over lies...This is a festival of equality too; when everyone gets covered in colours, neither their clothes nor faces are clear; neither the forward nor the backward are seen," he said.
"Today, the entire country is celebrating Holi. My greetings to all citizens of the country...For Lord Ram devotees across the world, this is a special Holi...Today Raghuvir is playing Holi in Awadh. It is a matter of great joy for us," he added.
How Bollywood celebrated festival of colours
Like the famous Holi celebrations of Great Showman Raj Kapoor, Bollywood celebs leave no stone unturned in extending their wish this auspicious occasion and also provided a glimpse of their celebrations of the festival of colours this year. Several of them shared pictures and videos on social media platforms like Instagram of their Holi celebration with family and friends. Newlyweds couples of Bollywood Kriti Kharbanda-Pulkit Samrat shared some adorable pictures of their Holi celebration.
Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt
Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt were seen playing Holi with their neighbours. The famous Bollywood couple was spotted with their daughter, Raha.
Kriti Kharbanda and Pulkit Samrat
The Newlywed couple of Bollywood Kriti Kharbanda and Pulkit Samrat shared a glimpse of their first Holi celebration.
Kareena Kapoor-Saif Ali Khan
Kareena Kapoor spent her Holi in Serengeti with her family and shared pictures with Saif Ali Khan and their sons.
Navya Nanda
Amitabh Bachchan's granddaughter shared glimpses of their Holi celebrations with her family. She posted pictures with Big B and Jaya Bachchan.
Kiara advani – Sidharth Malhotra
Kiara and Sidharth tied the knot on February 07, 2023. This was their their second Holi. The duo took to their official Instagram handle to share the pictures of their Holi celebrations.
Tiger Shroff, Akshay Kumar and Disha Patani
Disha, Tiger and Akshay were seen playing Holi together. Taking to Instagram, Disha shared a goofy video on social media in which she could be seen playing Holi with Tiger Shroff and Akshay Kumar. Disha captioned the video as “Happy Holi."