Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Oct 13: The nine-day gala that is Durga Puja started off with Mahalaya Monday. Different puja pandals in the city are busy giving finishing touches to the overall design. In all more than 100 puja pandals have come up in the temple city.
Two of these hundred are constructed with jute sticks ferried all the way from West Bengal. This year Mahadev Puja Committee, Unit I, would turn 57 years. Like every year the committee is celebrating the nine-day festival in a grand way. The unique thing about the puja is, over and above the jute pandal, Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati would be worshipped this year instead of Devi Durga and her children.
“Durga Puja is special for everyone. Every year we try to experiment with different materials. This year we chose jute as our main material for the pandal. Artistes from West Bengal have worked on the design and are now assembling everything. Work is on its last legs and will be complete before 18 October. Jute is very common in West Bengal so we ordered the material from that state,” said Gayadhar Swain, president of the committee.
The whole pandal will bear the raw look of jute sticks as the organising committee has decided not to use any other colour to keep it natural. Apart from using jute sticks, the design of the pandal is also very special as the base looks like a boat with the top part resembling a temple.
“Though we have not selected any particular theme like other pandals visitors would definitely find our pandal unique and beautiful. Moreover, this is the only pandal in the city worshipping Shiva-Parvati during Durga puja. This year the idol shows the killing of a demon by Lord Shiva accompanied by Parvati on his side. Another unique thing this year is that the trishul of the Lord is made of silver,” he said.
This year the height of the pandal is 65 ft by 75 ft and around 40 workers are working on it. Two thirds of the work is over. The puja committee has already has already spent `18 lakh and expenditure is expected to exceed expectations.
Special attention has been given to the security part. Apart from security guards and volunteers, seven CCTV cameras have been installed to monitor the crowd in and around the pandal.
Like Unit I the Bomikhal Durga puja pandal is also made of jute sticks. Here artistes from Midnapur are working on the pandal who have brought the jute sticks with them along with the pre-designed boards that would fix easily and are less time-taking to install. Though the design looks simple the use of jute sticks gives the pandal a different look.
