From Mysore Palace to Swami Narayan Mandir located at Chicago, the USA, devotees this year have dozens of option to indulge in the festive fervour completely. One of the most prominent and big budget pandal set up by Argora Puja Pandal Samiti has come up with the replica of Swami Narayan Temple, classified within traditional Hindu architecture as a ‘Shikharbadha Mandir’ has been built according to principles laid out in the Shilpa Shastras in Capital City.
Embroidered at a cost of Rs 21 lakh, artists from Kolkata and other adjoining places have designed both interior and exterior adornment accordingly in three months. Giving rustic backdrop to the figurines and interior setup, even the attire of Goddess has been designed keeping the pastoral milieu in mind.
With ply boards and other stuffs, interior furnishings too have been inked exactly in the similar way as the original one. Illumination effects depicting surgical strikes and other social initiatives will also grab the attention of leisure buffs here. From Argora chowk to the pandal destination, as many as 15 huge illumination settings have been decked beautifully to brighten the puja ambiance.
“The lighting effect at this specific pandal has covered several major themes and is different from other places. Around 40 artists have put their blood and sweat to give aesthetic touch to the puja pandal and bring the real quintessence of the theme,” said Rajesh Sahu, president of Argora Durga Puja Samiti.
“As miniature designing is involved with the concept, hence the creative team took long time in crafting out the exact designs on thermocol and ply boards. As the theme involves maximum use of beige colour, lighting effects too have been blended well with the colour combination to give elegance to the concept,” added Sahu.
To keep a tab on teeming crowd and to follow the guidelines issued by the district administration, the volunteers have drafted out security measures according to the area covered.
“We have installed six CCTV cameras inside the pandal. A group of woman volunteers is deputed at pandal especially in night to assist females. To tackle emergency, the Samiti members have issued their own helpline numbers. Separate counters for first-aid, lost and found have been set up for the convenience of devotees here,” added Sahu.