Ayodhya waits for miracle as Koreans come with history and hype

Mayor of Kim-Hae city Songh Eun-Bok, said he initiated interest in establishing relations with Ayodhya when he was elected in 1995. “We had read in our ancient texts, that about 2,000 years ago, a princess from this place Hur Hwang Oak married a King, Kim Su-Ro of Kaya Kingdom,” he said. “I was drawn by this historical connection and decided to something about it,” he said.

Investment or not, the city was dressed to impress the guests. From white-washing to cleaning up the roads to setting up various receptions by groups in the city, the hosts were not going to leave any stone unturned in packaging their city. A 24-hour police deployment accompanied the entourage to various religious sites, the site of the memorial in honour of the Princess, and dinners hosted by the business community and by the Raja of Ayodhya.

From the local Kotwali to the banks of the River Saryu at Ram Paari, people talked about their princess and the promise of a lot of money. They were not sure if it was Rs 200 crore or $ 200 crore. A saffron-clad priest stood near the Kotwali when they referred to the Koreans — “Oh yes! They are going to change the face of Ayodhya. I have heard that they are going to even remove the visa restrictions from this place. People of Ayodhya will be easily able to go to Korea.” So would he like to go? “No, no, Rajasaheb will go.”

The Mayor is aware of the hype. He said: “We have been invited to open industries and bring capital to this state but we have to think about this and no concrete decision has been taken yet,” he said, adding, “There is a general tendency amongst illiterate people to think that any foreigner will give money.”

The Memorandum of Understanding signed by Mayors of both cities states that `sister-city relation’ has been established between Ayodhya and Kim Hae. They document valid for five years states that they will collaborate in the fields of local government, sport, health, economics, trade, tourism, social and cultural affairs and other matters.

The top brass of officials and industrialists in Ayodhya wonder what the hype is all about. At a lunch hosted by the managing director of YashPaper Mill, it was decided that a delegation of Indians would visit Korea inApril to meet industrialists and discuss areas of collaboration. Said K.K. Jhunjhunwala, the MD of Yash Paper Mill: “I’m still not clear whythey are here, but I have been told to prepare this reception for them.”

His wife, Manjula, said that the entrepreneurs in Ayodhya were skepticalabout them. “It is very natural for everyone to think that if anybody iscoming from outside then they will bring something,” said Manjula.Jhunjhunwala said that he had heard at the dinner last night that thedelegates are more interested in doing business in NOIDA than in Ayodhya.

District Magistrate Navneet Sehgal blamed the media for the hype. “No one is going to invest without seeing the place for themselves.” After the end of the meeting though, he said that the delegates had evinced interest in investing in health and education sectors. “But there is no talk of 200 crore yet,” he warned.

Commissioner and director of industries in UP, Zora Chatterji said, “One can only be hopeful. We have indicated the possible areas where they couldcollaborate like Animal feeds and sugarcane-based products.” “I am a supreme optimist,” she added.

It was the Raja of Ayodhya, Bimlendra Mohan Pratap Mishra, who has played a key role in the developments. He was traced by a visiting Korean Professorand was then invited to visit Kim Hae by the Prime Minister. Although, hedisclaims any connection with the Princess who married King Kim, he stillplays a influential role from his over 700-room palace in Ayodhya.

The monument for the Princess, which is to be installed in Ayodhya, has beentransported to Calcutta, and the Koreans have entrusted him with the job ofsetting it up. “When they gave monument of the Princess to us, they mightgive money for development as well,” he said.