• Source:JND
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The grand Ram Mandir, which is currently under construction in the city of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, is the talk of the town with the consecration ceremony scheduled to take place on January 22. During the ceremony, Ram Lalla, infant Lord Ram, will be consecrated at the Garbhagriha (sanctum sanctorum) of the temple, which is a 20 ft long and equally wide place and can accommodate 1,000 devotees at a time.

Preparations are in full swing for the consecration ceremony to accommodate seating arrangements for 7,500 people on the temple premises. The priest of Varanasi will conduct the Pran Pratishtha and will be accompanied by 4 trustees and 4 priests. A designated area has been earmarked for PM Modi's speech, where he will convey a message to the entire world on this historic occasion.

Ahead of the Consecration Ceremony, Jagran.com spoke to the architect of the grand Ram Mandir, Ashish Sompura, who along with his brother and father, worked to design the temple. Ashish Sompura's father has been associated with the design and architecture of Ram Mandir since 1980. Speaking about the Ram Temple, Sompura said that the construction of the Ram Temple is "connected with people, dharma and minds of all."

"It is a great and the most precious moment for us. It is a big thing which has taken place. We believe God is the biggest hence it's such a big thing. It's connected with people, dharma, and minds of all," Sompura said.

Ram Mandir To Be Built In Nagara Shaili:

Sharing his insights on the design of the grand Ram Mandir, Sompura said that the temple is built in Nagara Shaili, which is the most developed style of Shailis in India and a common type of architecture followed to build temples in Northern India. He said, "there have been 16 Shailis prevailing in ancient India. Now there are only three Shailis prevalent at present, named Nagara Shaili, Dravid Shaili and Vesara Shailee".

"Ram Mandir is built in Nagara Shaili, which is the most developed style and practiced in Northern India," he added. Sompura told Jagran.com that the Ram Mandir is being built in an Octagonal shape, with five mandaps. "There are 5 mandaps (halls) in a row in Ram Mandir, namely Nritya Mandap, Rang Mandap, Sabha Mandap, Prarthana Mandap and Kirtan Mandap." "Ground floor is for Ram Lalla while first floor is going to be Ram darbar," he added.

Greenery To Surround Ram Temple:

Sompura further said that Lord Ram spent a lot of his life in jungle areas (Vann), hence the Ram temple will be surrounded by greenery. "We thought that Ram spent a lot of his time in Vann, therefore we surrounded the temple with a lot of greenery and nature," he said.

Asked where they got cues to design the Ram Temple, Sompura said that his team referred to a book, written by his grandfather in Gujarati, which enlightened him on designing temples. "We thought the design should be bigger now. Ram Lalla temple is unique in its design and architecture," he said, adding, "3-dimension Valmiki Ramayan is casted on the pillars, near the parikrama region".

Why Marble Is Not Used in Ram Mandir's Construction?

Sompura said that when Ashok Singhal reached Ayodhya in 1989 with the first brick in the name of Lord Ram on his head, they decided that the temple should be constructed with Bansi Paharpur stone, a special sandstone from Rajasthan. "As there was no flow of money at that time, they decided to take Rs 1 from Ram devotees to build the temple with that stone. Whether it is built in Rs 2 crore or Rs 500 crore, we cannot let the money of devotees who paid Rs 1 go wasted."