Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh): A man from Nagpur starts an 800-kilometer-long trek on foot to Ayodhya for the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple scheduled for January 22.
In a remarkable display of devotion, this Ram devotee, identified as Dhananjay, or Raju Patamase, has been walking 40 kilometers daily, carrying an idol of Lord Ram and the saffron flag in one hand, covering the distance from Nagpur to Ayodhya.
Raju Patamase, a 55-year-old resident of Jabalpur, originally hails from Madan Mahal in Jabalpur. Having participated in the Ram Mandir movement in 1992, he faced a 10-day imprisonment during the tenure of the Kalyan Singh government. He moved to Nagpur several years ago for employment and currently resides there with his wife Pranju and 14-year-old daughter Akshara.
Recounting his earlier involvement in the Ayodhya movement, Raju Patamase explains that he was arrested during the Babri Masjid dispute in 1992 when he joined the movement. He was arrested for nearly 10 days and later shifted to a temporary jail set up in a school for an additional two days upon release.
Expressing his longstanding dream to witness the consecration of the Ram Lalla temple, Raju Patamase, accompanied by his family, initiated this extraordinary pilgrimage. Walking an average of 40 kilometers daily, he covered a distance of approximately 350 kilometers from Nagpur to Jabalpur within seven days. With the culmination of his journey in Ayodhya on January 22, he aims to be part of the consecration ceremony of Lord Ram's idol, considering it a moment of great fortune in his life.
