"Sleeping on the floor, only coconut water’’ PM Modi's 11-day 'penance' before Ram Lalla's consecration

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been performing a difficult ritual for 11 days from January 12 in the run up to the consecration of the Ram Lala in Ayodhya on Monday.

He has been sleeping on the floor covered with a blanket and drinks only coconut water throughout the day.

On January 12, Modi cleaned the Shri Kalaram Temple complex in Nashik, Maharashtra. His initiative has started a mass movement for cleaning temples across the country.

On January 13, the Prime Minister shared the devotional bhajan "Har Ghar Mandir Har Ghar Utsav" sung by Divya Kumar in Delhi and greeted the countrymen on the occasion of Lohri.

On January 14, Modi participated in the Pongal celebrations at the residence of Union Minister Shri L. Murugan in New Delhi and extended his good wishes on the occasion of Pongal.

On January 15, he released the first installment to 1 lakh beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) under the Pradhan Mantri-Janjati Adivasi Nyay Maha Abhiyan (PM-Janman) from Delhi.

January 16 Modi visited and worshiped at Veerabhadra Temple in Andhra Pradesh. PM Modi watched the story of Jatayu presented through the verses of Ranganatha Ramayana in Telugu. Prime Minister Modi shared the video of Lord Shri Ram's bhajans sung in Kannada by Shivshree Skandaprasad. Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the new campus of the National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes and Narcotics (NACIN) at Palasamudram in Sri Sathya Sai district in Andhra Pradesh.

On January 17, Modi visited and offered prayers at Sri Ramaswamy Temple and Guruvayur Temple in Triprayar, Kerala. Apart from this, the Prime Minister dedicated to the nation infrastructure projects worth more than Rs 4,000 crore in Kochi, Kerala.

On January 18, he interacted with the beneficiaries of Vikas Bharat Sankalp Yatra through video conferencing. Released six commemorative postage stamps dedicated to Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple. The Prime Minister shared a devotional hymn of Shri Ram sung in Oriya, "Ayodhya Nagari Nache Ramanku Pai".

On January 19, Modi inaugurated the new state-of-the-art Boeing India Engineering and Technology Center campus in Bengaluru. Laid the foundation stone of eight AMRUT projects in Solapur, Maharashtra and addressed the inaugural ceremony of Khelo India Youth Games in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

The Prime Minister also participated in an event at Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple in Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu on January 20. He will have darshan and worship at the Kothandaramaswami temple in Dhanushkodi on January 21.