Let Ayodhya set a new paradigm of religious tourism
City of Light, Benaras. Pilgrimage involves frugal consumption traditionally. Pilgrims, not only those who can’t afford otherwise, walk to these places, as she beautifully described.
In modern times, though, pilgrimage also combines more material needs: picnics, sight-seeing and shopping. The new temple at Ayodhya could draw two, or three, different classes of visitors. A very large number of visitors with low incomes, who cannot really afford to spend a whole lot more, over and above what has to be spent on travel and food.
Some might even walk long distances, carry their own victuals and might not require anything more than rudimentary accommodation for a night, and shopping for simple Ayodhya-branded merchandise, and replenishment of stocks for the journey back home. Even this class of low-income visitors would generate considerable employment in the town, primarily in the form of crowd management and taking care of cleaning up the after-effects of the presence of large numbers of people at the same time at the same place. A second class of domestic visitors would be more well-off and inclined to spend more in the town, if the town offers worthy attractions.
The Akshardham temples have been conceived as theme parks of sorts, complete with food courts and the works. They showcase water fountain displays and audio-visuals highlighting a version of India’s ancient glory. The narrative of the Ramayana offers plenty of scope for an extensive theme park.
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