Durga Puja is just days away and preparations are in full swing. Although, cyclone Fani wreaked havoc in the Twin Cities a few months back, it hasn’t dented the enthusiasm of the devotees who are gearing up to make the most of the these five days of the festival. And like every year, revellers will once again hit the streets, hop pandals and indulge in festivities.
Pandal hopping is one of the must dos during Durga Puja. And no one realises that better than the puja committees, who put in all their effort to come up with the best pandals to attract maximum footfall. Durga Puja is held at approximately 300 different venues across Cuttack and Bhubaneswar and organisers are busy making last-minute preparations to deck up the pandals.
Pandals and gates are the face of all puja mandaps and many revellers judge a puja by the look of pandal. This, undoubtedly, has made it all the more important for organisers to spend more on pandals and gates over the last few years. In fact, there’s somewhat an unofficial competition among puja committees to come up with the most attractive pandal so that they can woo more visitors.
Given the rising competition among puja committees, massive pandals and gates are being erected on different themes across Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.
While some are coming up with replicas of prominent buildings and monuments or other architectural marvels from different parts of the world, many are going for abstract themes that demand fine craftsmanship.
Needless to say, a lot of investment goes into erecting these gigantic pandals. However, committees don’t mind pumping in hefty money to make the pandals as attractive as possible. Another big attraction that has made a comeback in the last few years is the silver filigree backdrop, which too is a crowd puller at major pandals. Sunday POST interacts with few puja committee members from Cuttack and Bhubaneswar to know more about the brain work and labour that go into making pandals, gates and arches.
Many Durga Puja committee members in Cuttack are spending sleepless nights with just a few days left for the festivities to begin. However, they are brimming with confidence and ensure that everything will be in place at least a couple of days before Sashti, which marks the first day of the festival.
Apart from idol makers, carpenters, painters, lapidaries and electricians are busy giving final touches to the pandals, welcome arches and gates. Cuttack boasts more than 165 Durga Puja mandaps. The bigger the idol, the bigger the pandal. Most Goddess Durga idols are more than 20 feet in height, which come with an even taller backdrop (silver tableaux).
Badambadi Durga Puja, the main entrance to the Silver City, is popular for coming up with huge arches every year. Krushna Chandra Parida, the joint secretary of the committee, says, “The arch is one of our prime attractions. Every year we welcome devotees with huge arches. We were among the first Durga Puja committees to come up with giant-size silver backdrops weighing 3.6 quintals. Our puja budget this year is Rs 24 lakh and the arch will be a replica of Ranimahal in Raipur.” More than 60 artisans from Kolkata have been roped in, who are working for more than a month to erect the arch.
“Ahead of Ganesh Puja every year, we hold a meeting and finalise the budget and the design of the arch. The idol making and construction of the arch start simultaneously on Ganesh Puja and is completed a day before Sashti. A lot goes into making these arches and we try to get the best in the trade,” he adds.
Durga Puja celebrations are an elaborate affair in Khan Nagar in Cuttack. Organised by Khan Nagar-Khapuria Shilpanchal Puja Committee, Durga Puja in this part of the city boasts a beautiful idol of Goddess Durga, a 30-feet-high silver tableau adorning the pandal and a majestic welcome arch.
Prafulla Kumar Sahoo, the secretary of Khan Nagar-Khapuria Shilpanchal Puja Committee, says, “Ours is a 70-year-old puja but we started worshipping Goddess Durga since 1972. Our puja attracts lakhs of devotees every year, so we try to come up with innovative pandal designs. On most occasions we try to make gigantic replicas of popular and famous monuments from different parts of the country. The replica of Vishno Devi temple was a big hit a few years ago. We also themed our pandal on Uri attack, which too attracted huge footfall.”
Adding to the festive sparkle at Khan Nagar Durga Puja is the silver backdrop. In 2011, the organisers invested in 3.5 quintals of pure silver to come up with a dazzling silver tableau.
“This year our pandal will be a replica of Tamil Nadu’s Ranganath Swami Temple which will cost around Rs 10 lakh. More than 50 artisans from Kolkata are working tirelessly to complete the arch a day ahead of Sashti,” adds Prafulla.
Durga Puja is being organised in Malgodown, the largest wholesale market in Odisha, since 1952. This year, the committee has planned to erect a welcome arch that replicates the Statue of Liberty. Members are hopeful that the theme will attract a large number of visitors to the puja pandal this year.
Kishore Chandra Sahoo, the treasurer of Malgodown Puja Committee, says, “We started the trend of making gigantic arches replicating landmark monuments and buildings from India and other parts of the world. A few years ago, we had erected an arch replicating the Red Fort. The structure was the centre of attraction for thousands of people from not only the city but also from
SOYONG, OP