Janakpur celebrates new abode of ‘brother-in-law’
The festive sentiment ahead of the consecration of the Ram Temple is palpable across the Mithila region that stretches across the India-Nepal boundary.
Ram Tapeshwar Das stands in the shadow of the gleaming stone-and-marble building that he has called home for decades, busy barking instructions. The 70-year-old is frenetic; only a few days remain for the opening of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, but a lot of work remains to be done. And for Das, the chief priest of Nepal’s biggest temple, the Janaki Mandir, it’s not just a religious exercise, it is also a personal one.
After all, for Das, and the roughly 100,000 residents of Janakpur, believed to be the birthplace of Sita, she is not a queen or maiya (mother) but only a didi (sister). “In accordance with the Maithili culture, it is customary to send offerings from the daughter’s maternal home on auspicious occasions taking place in her husband’s home. Upholding this tradition, Janakpur, as the maternal home of Sita, who was married to the then crown prince of Ayodhya, Rama, is sending offerings to Ayodhya,” said Das.
Last week, everyone in Janakpur, from newborns to nonagenarians, saw off a team of around 300 leave with 10,000 pieces of Gharbasak bhar or gifts for housewarming, to mark the entering of Ram and Sita in their new abode in Ayodhya. “The offerings encompass various types of jewellery, utensils, clothing and sweets, decoratively arranged in specially crafted bamboo baskets,” said Das.
The white marble arches, domes, turrets and screens of the magnificent three-storey temple tower over the town. The walls are adorned with Madhubani paintings depicting scenes from the Ramayana, and 60-odd rooms feature coloured glass, engravings, paintings, and lattice windows and turrets.
Today, the town – located roughly 20km from the Indian border in northern Bihar – serves as the most important node of Hindu faith in Nepal. Most people are farmers and small businessmen, the incomes are low and industrialisation nascent, as is the case across the vast stretch of the country’s Terai region.
“Our didi’s marriage was solemnised here. So, what can be a more proud day for us than our brother-in-law entering a new home? I know our pahun (brother-in-law) doesn’t need any help in getting a home but Narendra Modiji has become the medium of his gharwas or grih-pravesh,” Das said.
Das is busy making preparations to travel to Ayodhya, but is certain that Janakpur will celebrate the consecration with fervour. “At least 125,000 lamps will be lit. The women will sing badhai-geet for the celebrations. They will also undertake cultural processions,” he added.
The festive sentiment is palpable across the Mithila region that stretches across the India-Nepal international boundary and is framed by the Ganga on the southern side and the foothills of the Himalayas in the north. In Bihar’s Sitamarhi town, which is believed to be where King Janak found Sita while ploughing a field, the fervour has reached fever pitch.
Over the weekend, a team of over 500 people, including sages and devotees, left the village in 150 vehicles to Ayodhya. Four trucks and two chariots carried gifts for Ram and Sita from Paunahi Dham, the local temple. Every household sent laddu, khaja, ganja, khajuri, pidukia, gold and silver jewellery, clothes, sacred thread, copper, brass, steel and silver utensils. “Seeing the enthusiasm of the devotees, the gifts kept increasing. Earlier, we had decided to send 1,001 gifts but it reached 10,001 by the time we left for Ayodhya,” said Kaushal Kishore Das, the chief priest of Paunahi.
One of the people leading the mobilisation programme is Kameshwar Chaupal, a former Bharatiya Janata Party lawmaker who laid the first brick of the figurative shilanyas of the temple on November 9, 1989. “I come from a poor scheduled caste family in Supaul district. January 22 will be the start of Rama-Rajya…And since Ram can’t be complete without Sita, being the residents of Mithila, we’ll leave no stone unturned to make him complete,” he said.
Across Mithila, Sita and Ram are household names who bring communities together across caste or religious lines. “My religious belief apart, Ram is our brother-in-law. I shall pray for the safety and security of his new abode,” said septuagenarian Mohammad Mustafa, adding that he will observe a fast on January 22. His wife Bibi Zubeida said that every year, she watches Vivah Panchami, or the day Ram and Sita were believed to have wed. “I wish I could see our Bihariji entering his new home,” said the 68-year-old.