US Hindus hold massive car rally ahead of Ayodhya Ram Mandir consecration

Ahead of the consecration ceremony of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya later this month, members of the Hindu American community organized a massive car rally on Sunday throughout Houston, making stops at 11 temples along the way while chanting "Jai Shri Ram" and singing bhajans.The Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA) has formally invited temple officials to the consecration event on January 22 in Ayodhya.Approximately five hundred passionate cyclists, wearing saffron banners featuring the Ram Mandir, the Indian flag, and the US flag, joined the three-mile-long procession of 216 cars led by eight police officers on motorbikes.Houston philanthropist Jugal Malani opened the gathering at Sri Meenakshi Temple, and it ended late in the afternoon at Richmond's Sri Sharad Amba Temple.Over a six-hour period, the procession, which was led by a truck, traversed Houston's congested roads, covering a distance of 100 miles and making stops at eleven temples.At the temples, about 2,000 worshippers, both young and old, some of them crying, welcomed the procession with bhajans.Three Houston volunteers, Achalesh Amar, Umang Mehta, and Arun Mundra, organized the inaugural event.“The devotion and love shown by over 2,500 devotees gathered at various temples to car rally participants was overwhelming. Lord Shri Ram certainly resides in the heart of the Houstonians,” Amar, a member of the VHPA, told the media.(With agency inputs)