‘Ram Van Gaman Path’ shaping hopes, narratives and poll symbolism
Lord Ram is central to the 2024 election campaign, with the Ram Van Gaman Path still under construction. The project aims to boost tourism and employment.
Lord Ram is omnipresent in the 2024 Lok Sabha election campaign but the Ram Van Gaman Path is still in the works. According to the Ramayana, Ram took this arduous “exile path” in his earthly avatar to uphold morals and ethical conduct in one’s life. And it will perhaps need another election for this 210-kilometre-long Ram Van Gaman Path to gain traction.
The Yogi 2.0 government’s efforts to retrace Ram’s trek into the forests and to develop the route into a hub of religious tourism, has started generating interest and curiosity, not simply among the religious-minded but also among those who are hoping that the makeover will lead to better employment -- a powerful 2024 poll narrative.
The Yogi Adityanath’s government’s plans to develop the “Van Gaman Path” (exile path) that spans Ayodhya in central India to Chitrakoot in Bundelkhand and links six Lok Sabha constituencies and 30 assembly segments from Ayodhya-Faizabad, Sultanpur, Pratapgarh, Prayagraj, Kaushambi to Chitrakoot-Banda is more than a mere religious exercise.
Because locals aspiring for a better tomorrow have their hopes pinned on the project.
“Hum toh ab tak Ram bharose hi baithe hain ... par ab shayad halaat badlengey (all this far, we have been relying on Lord Ram alone, but maybe, now things will change)” says Maiku Lal, a Dalit from Kaushambi, who has his face covered to save himself from the puff of dust that flies his way every now and then from the numerous construction sites on the National Highway 731 A.
Shringverpur by the banks of the Ganga near Prayagraj finds mention in Hindu religious scriptures as the point from where Ram crossed the river into the forests to serve his 14-year exile period after giving up the kingdom of Ayodhya.
It is here that hundreds of labourers are busy constructing a bridge, part of the four-lane green field highway stretch - one that will connect directly to Kaushambi, shortening the run to Chitrakoot and beyond.
This episode of the “exiled” Ram crossing the ancient, holy river at Shringverpur with the help of a leader of the riverine community on way to the forests on the other side also finds mention in the Ramayana.
Life-size statues of Nishadraj (the king of riverine communities) and Lord Ram in embrace await a formal release at this point. This intermingling of the exiled ruler and the ruled is also a powerful narrative on caste unity, an important symbolism given the fact that the BJP is attempting to dilute the opposition’s caste census push through the overarching appeal of Hindutva.
Ram was born in an upper caste royal family while the Nishads are counted among other backward castes and are pushing for inclusion among the Scheduled Castes.
That is why perhaps, Ayodhya from where Lord Ram’s younger brother Bharat is believed to have ruled after keeping Ram’s ‘khadau (wooden slippers)’ on the throne as a mark of respect for his elder – to Shringverpur on the banks of the Ganges, where Nishads showcase their connect with the god, the entire ‘Ram Van Gaman’ stretch is a reminder of the power of the religious narrative to bind the masses.
The entire route is dotted with religious tales, allegory and symbolism as the Yogi 2.0 government plans to showcase these spiritual mementos to not just the religiously inclined but also to drive big infra projects and hotels to this place.
That is why it is evident that the construction has stirred up hopes.
“We are happy that this Ram Van Gaman Path will bring in more devotees who would get to know the association of the lord with the place,” says Narendra Tripathi, a young priest of the Shringverpur temple.
This priest, among many at Shringverpur temple, barely sees much pilgrim traffic now, but hopeful of change when the ‘Ram Van Gaman Path’ comes up.
The same sentiment is there on the other side of the Ganga where at Rajapur, amid tranquil setting along the Yamuna, an octogenarian priest of the Tulsi Ram Charitmanas temple, Ramashray Tripathi, describes himself as the eighth-generation of his family who is guarding what he describes as a “religious treasure trove”.
“I am the eighth generation in my family who has been guarding this treasure and hopefully when the Ram Van Gaman Path comes up, it will enable more and more people to know about their heritage, culture,” says Ramashray Tripathi.
Tripathi’s daily routine includes ensuring that the “treasure” - the lone surviving original handwritten version of the Tulsidas’s Ramayana – is taken out from a chest for devotees and kept back in lock and key afterwards.
“It’s a schedule my family generations have followed for 450 years, I am also doing the same,” says the priest of the temple, which also has several other priceless Ramayana versions, gifted to him over the years.
The Manas temple has few idols of the gods but as its name suggests, the handwritten book, has the status of a deity here.
Alongside, there is another temple – the Tulsi Janam Kutir Tulsi Mandir and a plaque outside it reads:
“In a house on this site lived Tulsidas, author of the Ramayana, about the beginning of the 17th century.”
At another place, is written: “Tulsi Prasav Kaksh (Tulsi birth room)’ which also has ‘khadau (wooden slippers)’ of Tulsidas. The temple is neat, but it is evident that as of now there isn’t much pilgrim traffic as the approach to this place is through a rather narrow, congested stretch.”
“Elections come and go but neither has this place changed, nor our fate. This route is now expected to usher in footfalls and make our fortunes shine. The lord has his ways and surely, if things change, not just we but everyone would benefit,” Tripathi says.
“All the villages and fields that had to be acquired for the purpose have been acquired, compensation paid and now, work on NH 731A is on at full speed,” said an official of the PWD’s NHAI wing.