A 14-year-old student from Kolkata is giving finishing touches to an iconic book on Ayodhya and the Ram Mandir, to be launched before India's 77th Independence Day on August 15.
Aashvi Agarwal, who is currently studying in Kolkata's La Martiniere For Girls school will soon launch her historic book "The Promised Land" that for the first time looks at the sea of faith that inundated not just India but the world after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Ram mandir.
Agarwal, who studies in the 10th standard looked at human emotions that ensued after the opening in Ayodhya and is documenting through photographs the ocean of people that visited the Mandir in the first five months since its opening, merging it with Ayodhya's architecture, traditions and heritage.
The book - a series of hundreds of black and white photographs is expected to be launched end July, early August - just before India's independence day.
Agarwal says "The construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya was an event of significant cultural, religious and political importance for india. For millions of Hindus across the world, the temple built in Lord Ram's birthplace fulfils long-held religious aspirations and preserves Hindu traditions and stories. For Prime Minister Modi to keep his word and finally build the temple and open it to devotees was one of the most significant events in Indian history. That's why I am calling the book "The Promised Land".
Agarwal adds "This book does not look at the history of the land or its tryst with conflict or controversy. It is a pure representation visually - through photographs the faith of the people who visited the site in millions soon after its opening. It is a pure human story of emotion and devotion".
On August 5, 2020, PM Modi performed the Bhumi Pujan for the commencement of the construction of Ram Mandir and it was then inaugurated on January 22, 2024. On the first day of its opening, a whopping half a million people visited the temple complex. Even after months, nearly a lakh devotees have been visiting Ayodhya daily. The temple construction has been accompanied by a $10 billion plan "encompassing a new airport, revamped railway station, and township development" to transform the ancient city of Ayodhya into a global religious and spiritual tourist destination.
Agarwal who is returning to Ayodhya in the third week of May to put the final touches to the book - soon after her school shuts for summer break adds "This book inspires me to talk about how faith plays an important role in the lives of each individual and how people see it from different perspectives. The Ayodhya project gave me a chance to show the people of India the reality of believing in something at their best or their worst. The Ram Mandir according to me is a true metaphor of that faith".
