Under the guidance of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, different cultures from across the country will meet in Ayodhya.

Several new events will take place starting from Makar Sankranti (January 15). At various locations, including Ram Ki Paidi, Dharam Path, Tulsi Udyan, Circuit House, Saket College, the visitors will be acquainted with cultural activities of different states. The event will introduce the cultural theme of the new Ayodhya.

From January 15, renowned spiritual speaker Devkinandan Thakur will narrate the Ram Katha at Ram Katha Park. The katha, which will continue till January 23, will take place from 11 am to 2 pm. On the directive of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, continuous Ram Katha has been organised from January 8. The Ram Katha, spanning 70 days, will feature different narrators each week, allowing devotees to listen to various versions of the epic. From January 8 to 14, Shri Chinmayanand Bapu narrated the Ram Katha to devotees.

People from several states of the country will present their offerings at the Ram Ki Paidi. On the Ram Ki Paidi, Shailesh Bhagwat from Maharashtra will play the shehnai. Harsh Vardhan from Maharashtra will express his devotion to Lord Ram through the sarangi, and Shashwat Mandal from Delhi will present devotional songs.

In addition, Anuj Mishra will perform ‘Kathak’ dance, Jyoti Srivastava will perform Odissi dance, and Anjana Jha and Surbhi Shukla will present Kathak. Meenu Thakur will mesmerise the audience at the Ram Ki Paidi with the Kuchipudi dance.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had directed the organisation of cultural programmes at public places. As part of this, on Makar Sankranti, a bhajan programme by Shashikant Dubey will be held near Saket Petrol Pump while Ayodhya’s Shitala Prasad Verma will present Faruwahi folk dance. On the Dharma Path, Rajesh Gaud from Ayodhya will present Kaharwa dance and Sweta Singh from Gonda will present bhajans and folk songs.

Furthermore, at Ram Ghat Halt, Rama Prajapati will showcase the Badhawa dance, and Manavendra Das and Manas Das will present devotional songs. Near Saket College, Sultanpur’s Dayashankar Pandey will present an Awadhi folk song and Prakriti Yadav will perform a folk dance. In addition, at Parag Dairy, Mukesh Kumar will present the Faruwahi folk dance.

On the Tulsi Udyan stage, Jhansi’s Seetaram Kushwaha will sing bhajans, and Ashok Kumar from Jaunpur will present folk songs. Omprakash Sharma from Prayagraj will play the shehnai.