Hyderabad City soaks in Rama Navami fervour as Shobha Yatra turns cynosure of all eyes

Hyderabad: Devotees of all ages, from children to elderly, soaked in 'Ram Bhakti' with slogans of 'Jai Shri Ram' in the colourful shobha yatra taken out on the streets of Hyderabad in a grand manner by the Bhagyanagar Ram Navami Utsav Samithi to mark Sri Rama Navami on Thursday.

Three major rallies culminated in a public meeting at the Hanuman Vyayamshala playgrounds in the evening. The rallies came from Sitarambagh, Amberpet and Filmnagar, Banjara Hills. The main shobha yatra started at 1.30 pm from the historic Sita Ramachandra Swamy temple at Sitarambagh after the kalyanam in which 200 couples participated. The rally was flagged off by chief guest Kashi Sumeru Peethadheesh Swamy Narendranand Saraswati and Santh Bhomaramji Maharaj who performed puja of the Sri Rama idol placed on a trolley.

The utsav samithi leaders arranged vehicles with idols of Sri Ram and Hanuman. The leaders Bhagwanth Rao, Govind Rathi, Sriram Vyas and others were seen coordinating the yatra. Children, youth and elderly were seen dancing to the tunes of 'teenmaar' band and DJ playing songs like 'Ramji ki nikli sawari', 'Banayenge Mandir'. Small children were dressed like Lord Ram, Lakshman and Hanuman.

Youth were seen raising slogans of 'Jai Sri Ram', 'Bharat Mata ki Jai','Vande Mataram' as the yatra passed through the bylanes of Mangalhat and other areas. The rally taken up by Goshamahal MLA T Raja Singh, which started at Rani Avanti Bai Lodh Bhavan, joined the main procession at Mangalhat-Dhoolpet road. He administered an oath at Siddiamber Bazar to people to make the country a 'Hindu Rashtra'.

Swamy Narendranand Saraswati said the sanatan dharma people should aspire for 'shanti and kranti'. "We want shanti (peace) but people should not treat this as our weakness. We need kranti (revolution) to fight non-believers who attack," he said.

Stating that Hindus need to be awakened, Santh Bhomaramji Maharaj advised them to shed casteism. "Our weakness is we are divided in castes and once it is removed no force can stop us from becoming Vishwaguru," he said, calling upon saints to openly talk in favour of dharma.

The shobha yatra passed through Dhoolpet, Puranapool, Jumerat Bazar, Chudi Bazar, Begum Bazar, Siddiamber Bazar, Gowliguda and Koti. Several organisations set up stages to welcome the yatris all along the route. Several philanthropic organisations and individuals provided drinking water, butter milk packets, cool drinks and food to the yatris. There was heavy police bandobast with almost 2,000 personnel in uniform and civil dress ensuring the yatra passed off peacefully.