A controversy has erupted over depiction of lord Jagannath on coins which were proposed to be issued in commemoration of the Nabakalebara 2015.
The Central Government had announced that it would issue coins of `10 and `1,000 denominations to mark the Nabakalebar of the deities.
The process is still on as the design recommended by a panel of noted Odias constituted by Union Culture Ministry has not been finalised, according to sources.
The Union Economic Affairs Department has objected to the design, which depicts a pair of feet, pointing out that it does not resemble the iconic image of any of the deities seen at the Shreemandir, Puri. Thus, the Ministry has now decided to take advice of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA).
The SJTA would advise how the deities, lord Jagannath, His siblings lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra, and Sudarshan should be portrayed on the coins.
“The design hardly looks like lord Jagannath,” Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das, who hails from Odisha, stated in a letter to the Culture Ministry.
The panel headed by Odia litterateur JP Das had been entrusted the job to finalise a design. Other members include Prof Harekrushna Satpathy, Vice-Chancellor of Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha, Tirupati, litterateur Pratibha Ray, artist Dinanath Pathy and writer Haraprasad Das.
JP Das, however, maintained that the lord has been depicted with His feet in certain versions. He said the panel followed due process and there is no distortion in the proposed image. He said in at least two Veshas (images) of the lords, arms and feet are fitted on to the images.
The Culture Ministry has not reverted to the committee on this issue, he said.