Lord Ram Lights up Times Square in a Digital Extravaganza

But, what is an Indian deity doing on New York’s billboard?

What happened on 5th August 2020, in two completely different parts of the world — New York and Ayodhya, India — is modern history in the making.

I’m referring to the largest-ever digital display of an India deity, Lord Ram, in New York’s Times Square to commemorate the groundbreaking ceremony (“Bhoomi Pujan”) of the planned temple of Lord Ram (Ram Mandir) in Ayodhya, India — a whooping 7k miles away. But on 5th August, both venues marched to the beat of the same drum.

These two events will go down in the annals of history as monumental — a turning point in history that reeks of violence and blood, and has left hundreds dead and shattered in its wake of around five hundred years, all over a disputed piece of land!

History

Hindus regard the land in question as the birthplace of Lord Ram, the seventh avatar of Vishnu (one of the three principal deities of India). It is also where once stood Babri Masjid (a Muslim mosque built by the Mughal emperor, Babar).