Amongst Durga puja revellers in Ranchi, Chandrashekhar Azad puja pandal is known for its exemplary art work, décor and innovative concept. Being decked up since 1961, this year the City’s oldest pandal will give a glimpse of Kashi Vishawanath’s Dashashwamedh Ghat.
Located in the heart of the Capital City, this puja pandal attracts pandal hoppers in huge numbers each year This year the theme of the pandal is ‘Aarambh hi Anth’. Thousands of sadhus made of silicon will be seen meditating and worshipping inside the pandal.
The idol of Goddess Durga is being made of silicon which will be added attraction. A statue of Prime Minister Narendera Modi who is also the Member of Parliament for Varanasi will be seen doing the aarti of the deity,
The structure of the pandal is about 65 feet in height, 75 feet wide and 80 feet in depth. Traditional artists from West Bengal have been working round the clock to give the pandal a whole distinct identity, The structure is being primed at a whiopping cost of Rs 40 lakh.
Various cultural programmes have also been planned by the committee. The pandal will be open to revellers on the fifth day of Navratri- October 7 when a Delhi based theatre group will showcase the nine forms of Goddess Durga and Goddess Vaishno Devi. This will be followed by a cultural performance by Bhojpuri singer Pawan Singh.
On the sixth day- October 8, singers like Anupma Yadav and Arvind Akele Kallu will mesmerise the audience with devotional songs while on the seventh day- October 8, 11 priests from Varanasi will do the aarti of the deities. This will be followed by a soulful performance by the famous bhajan singer Gajendra Pratap Singh from the city of Ujjain.
“From panchmi to Dussehra , we will be honouring doctors, cleaning and sanitation workers working across our City, senior members of Sarna Samitis, media professionals and NGO’s. We have been doing this for the last three years and last year we had felicitated about 1700 people from various fields. At our pandal, we want to showcase our proud culture to our younger generation,” said president, Chandrashekhar Azad puja pandal committee, Ramesh Singh.
