Delhi wedding bands swamped with Ram Mandir festivities in run-up to Jan 22 consecration ceremony

In Delhi, traditional wedding bands are gearing up for a bustling day on January 22, with a multitude of celebratory events scheduled at temples throughout the city to mark the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, as reported by PTI.

According to industry experts, more than 1,500 such events are planned in markets and temples. The wedding bands have been reserved to perform devotional songs and bhajans during these programs, contributing to the heightened devotional and festive atmosphere.

These celebrations coincide with the onset of the wedding season in Delhi, resulting in wedding bands receiving numerous booking requests, surpassing their usual workload. Nevertheless, they are making concerted efforts to accommodate all requests.

Satya Anil Thadani, the owner of Jea Band, mentioned, “This year has witnessed a substantial increase in the demand for dhol and band, baaja due to ‘Ram Barats’ being taken out. We will start our day at 4 am. Both small and large bands are preparing.” He further explained that they have divided band members into smaller teams to manage the requests for January 21 and 22.

Thadani highlighted, “This year has seen a 50-60 per cent rise in the demand for wedding bands.”

The ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony for the Ram temple will be conducted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday. Band members, accustomed to performing wedding songs, are now gearing up to play devotional songs praising Lord Ram.

“We are fully booked due to the significant event. We are practicing special songs for the day. Performers are preparing to play the popular bhajan ‘Ram Aayenge to Angana Sajaungi,‘ and special dhol beats during the aarti,” stated a member of the Rajdhani Band. The band members will wear special saffron-colored uniforms on that day.

A dhol wallah, set to perform at a temple, mentioned that they will play instruments during the aarti and are also preparing a special bhajan-kirtan playlist.

Likewise, the Madan Band Baaja group is getting ready to play religious songs in praise of Lord Ram and Lord Hanuman.

Brijesh Goyal, chairman of the Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI), disclosed that over 1,500 events are scheduled across Delhi, including temples, societies, markets, and communities, leading up to and on the day of the consecration ceremony.

“There has been a surge in demand for music groups and people who perform ‘Sundar Kand‘ and Dharmik Paath due to the wedding season and ‘Pran Pratishtha‘,” he added.

Ajay Prakash Sharma, the owner of a wedding band, noted that musical groups are facing a shortage of players due to the clash of dates. “We are adding more people to the group as the locations of events are also far from each other. We have made teams of six, 10, and 15 people,” he added.

Naushad, a member of the Chauhan Band, mentioned that they are booked for weddings and multiple events on January 21 and 22. “During the same time last year, we got bookings for just one or two weddings. But this year’s Ayodhya ceremony has brought a lot of work to us,” he added.

The Sadar Bazaar Traders’ Association is one of the entities that has booked a wedding band to perform for them on January 22.

Rakesh Kumar Yadav, president of the Federation of Sadar Bazar Traders Association, expressed their anticipation for the day, saying, “We aim to create the best atmosphere in the market, where the streets will be filled with sounds of devotional songs and bhajans. We have booked a band for the day. We aim to celebrate the joy, ensuring we don’t miss out on anything.”

(With PTI inputs)