Puri: A goldsmith from Satyabadi has donated at least 30 varieties of flower plants to the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) here for the performance of daily rituals to Lord Jagannath and his siblings Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra.
Babana Das, who has been running a jewellery repairing shop at Kholar near Nimapara, donated around 300 flower plants and several Tulsi (Basil) plants to the Srimandir administration Wednesday.
SJTA administrator (security) Prafulla Kumar Mishra felicitated Das with Khandua Pata and applauded his devotion to the deities. “We will transplant the flower and Tulsi plants donated by Das at Nilachala Upabana (garden), Koili Baikuntha on temple precincts and Lord’s gardens near Narendrakona and Matitota,” said an SJTA official.
Das, who writes poetry as a hobby, had decided to offer flower plants to Srimandir a couple of months ago. “I could not find a suitable space at my rented house at Kholar to set up a nursery for growing flower plants. I requested one of my neighbours to allow me to grow plants on his rooftop,” Das said.
After getting a proper place for setting up of a nursery, Das had visited several villages in the locality to collect seeds and saplings of flower plants. “Many people had helped me to collect seeds and saplings. My family had also extended full support to my venture,” Das said.
The 58-year-old goldsmith claimed that he had earlier donated flower plants to Lord Somnath Dev temple at Jatni, Shanidev shrine at Nimapara and Nilakantheswar and Gopeswar shrines at Kholar. “I have donated several rare varieties of flower plants, including that of Cape jasmine (Sugandharaj), tecoma (Tarata) and mutabilis (Sthalapadma), to Srimandir. I will soon send flower plants to some other shrines in the state,” Das said.
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