Rohit Bhatiya is seated in a special enclosure in the Ram Temple complex. All around him are a plethora of guests from the worlds of sport, film, business and politics. But the 50-year-old from Makrana in Rajasthan isn’t out of place. In front of him stands the magnificent structure of pink sandstone, white marble and granite that he helped build – the Ayodhya Ram Mandir.

“It is the happiest moment of my life… I am looking at history that has been created for thousands of years,” he said, marvelling at the product of nearly four years of work. He has been part of the process since 2022.

Bhatiya is one of nearly 4,000 workers who worked to shape 2.1 million cubic feet of stone into the Ram Temple, where a 51-inch tall iron idol of Ram Lalla was consecrated on Monday morning.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi acknowledged their efforts after completing the rituals inside the temple’s garbh griha, or sanctum sanctorum, showering petals on the 100 workers who were present at the event, wearing neon green safety jackets.

“I was involved in carving and building the floors of the sanctum sanctorum and the throne of Ram Lalla,” said Bhatiya.

“The prime minister told us that the real credit of the temple work goes to us and that we will be remembered in history for thousands of years,” he added.

Anubhai Sompura, supervised the temple construction workshop, known as the Ram Mandir Nirman Karyashala, for the last 30 years said he was blessed to see the temple in fruition.

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“I think I am fortunate and was blessed by Lord Ram that I was able to see Ram Lalla’s grand temple,” said the 70-year-old from Ahmedabad, who joined his compatriots at the event.

Rajnikant (who goes by a single name), an artisan from Surendra Nagar district in Gujarat, who was also part of the workshop, said he has been involved with the project for 15 years.

“I am speechless, I cannot express my feelings,” he said, his voice quivering.

Another artisan, Lakkhi, from Bharatpur district in Rajasthan, said his work had wrapped up five years ago, but returned to Ayodhya to make in time for the consecration.

“I went back to my village, but returned a month back to witness such a great moment,” said the 55-year-old.