Ranchi, Oct 18 (PTI) Themes inspired by ancient temples and architectural marvels, ranging from Lord Krishna’s legendary city of Dwarka in Gujarat to the Kailasa Temple at the Ellora Caves in Maharashtra, are attracting pandal hoppers during Durga Puja in Jharkhand.
Several puja committees have come up with grand pandals showcasing replicas of historic temples and architectural landmarks, offering visitors a glimpse of India’s rich cultural and architectural heritage.
Replicas of the Dwarkadhish Temple in Gujarat, Brihadeeswarar Temple in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, and Swarved Mahamandir in Varanasi have been set up in the state capital Ranchi, while a pandal inspired by the Kailasa Temple at the Ellora Caves has been recreated in Jamshedpur.
The Chandra Shekhar Azad Durga Puja Samiti has modelled its pandal on the Dwarkadhish Temple in Gujarat. The structure measures 190 feet in width, 140 feet in length and 120 feet in height.
The entrance gate features a photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi performing an underwater puja off the coast of Panchkui beach in Gujarat on February 25, 2024, to pray at the site of the ancient submerged city of Dwarka in the Arabian Sea.
“This time, we wanted to choose a replica of one of the temples being built as part of the country’s temple corridor projects. A new temple in Dwarka has been built with a grand design, and no puja pandal modelled on it had been set up in Jharkhand so far. Therefore, we chose the theme of Lord Krishna’s city of Dwarka,” Ramesh Singh, president of the committee, told PTI.
Adorned with colourful lights, the pandal took four months to construct at a cost of Rs 80 lakh. More than one lakh devotees and visitors are expected to visit the venue, Singh said.
The Bharatiya Navyuvak Sangh Durga Puja Committee has built a 105-foot-high and 120-foot-wide replica of the Brihadeeswarar Temple in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu.
“The Brihadeeswarar Temple was built by Chola king Rajaraja I about 1,000 years ago. Every year, we try to offer visitors a unique experience. This year, we recreated the temple as a puja pandal and installed a 17-foot-tall idol of Nandi, Lord Shiva’s vehicle, which has become a major attraction,” the committee’s spokesperson, Amit Bajaj, said.
The pandal is entirely eco-friendly, with materials such as bamboo, malai kanti (softwood) and dried coconut pieces used in its construction, he said.
A 17-foot-tall idol of Goddess Durga, crafted by artisans from Tamluk in West Bengal, has been installed at the centre of the pandal.
The organisers have allocated around Rs 1.25 crore for the event, including Rs 70 lakh for the pandal. The structure is located in Upper Bazar. Last year, the committee recreated Cambodia’s Angkor Wat, Bajaj said.
Thousands of devotees and visitors are also thronging the Zilla School grounds near Shaheed Chowk in Ranchi to see a replica of Varanasi’s Swarved Mahamandir, described as the world’s largest meditation centre. The structure has been recreated by the Ram Lalla Durga Puja Committee.
The committee is organising the Durga Puja for the third consecutive year.
Its president, Ashok Chaudhary, told PTI that this is the first time the Swarved Mahamandir has been recreated as a puja pandal in Jharkhand.
“The pandal is 100 feet high and 140 feet wide. We have installed a 25-foot-tall idol of Goddess Durga, the tallest in the city. Hundreds of artisans worked for around two months to construct the structure. Our total budget for organising this year’s event is Rs 1.25 crore,” Chaudhary said.
The Panch Mandir Durga Puja Committee has erected a 90-foot-high, 65-foot-wide and 55-foot-long pandal in Harmu, inspired by Rajasthani architecture and designed as an imaginary royal temple, its president, Manoj Panday, said.
The main attraction is the entrance gate, which features high-definition LED screens instead of conventional decorations. Visible from a distance of around 500 metres, the screens display content related to Goddess Durga and messages about Jharkhand.
A 12-foot-tall idol of Goddess Durga has been installed at the centre of the pandal. Chief Minister Hemant Soren is the chief patron of the committee.
“This year, we have allocated a budget of Rs 90 lakh for organising the event,” Panday said.
In Jamshedpur, a pandal inspired by the Kailasa Temple at the Ellora Caves in Maharashtra has emerged as a major attraction for devotees. The structure has been erected at the M-Type ground in Adityapur by the Praveen Singh Seva Sansthan Committee.
“The theme showcases mountain formations, wildlife, birds and representations of ancient structures found in mountainous regions. This is the 66th year that the committee has organised the event. We have built a 60-foot-high temple structure and installed a 22-foot-tall idol of Goddess Durga brought from neighbouring West Bengal,” Shankar Singh, a core member of the committee, said.
Sound effects of waterfalls, birds and wild animals have been incorporated at various points inside the pandal to enhance the experience for visitors. The pandal was built at a cost of more than Rs 30 lakh, Singh said. PTI RPS MNB
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