Singer Sonu Nigam was the first singer to perform during the pran pratishtha ceremony at Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. “I got to sing at an event that was being watched by 120 countries, without any rehearsal. I just left it Ram bharose,” he says.

The Padma Shri recipient, who sang Ram Siya Ram and Ram Dhuni, adds that he owes his love for devotional music to his late mother Shobha Nigam. “I’ve been singing devotional songs from a very early age as my mother loved hearing them in my voice. She’s not here physically, but I could feel her presence, love and care around me, during my performance.”

Ask how he spent a day in Ayodhya, and Nigam shares, “I prayed a lot. I couldn’t sleep well the night before. But it was special.”