With time, puja pandals of the city have set new standards of grandeur and given their charming decor, are becoming preferred selfie destinations for the denizens of Ranchi.
Pandal hoppers, both young and old, can be seen clicking pictures of themselves or their companions, with the magnificent idols of deities or the beautiful interior in the background. This photo-shoot goes on for a while, with the images making their way to the social networking websites and instant messaging applications.
This might feel like the thing to do, given the regal set up, but is nothing short of a nightmare for those managing crowds of devotees at these pandals. With some of the devotees stuck on a spot, clicking away, others the crowd struggle to inch towards the exits.
“People send pictures to their family members and friends living at the other side of the city or the globe via the internet, giving them a taste of what they are witnessing at a beautifully made pandal. This is definitely good for publicity, but has its own disadvantages too,” said Santosh Kumar Pathak, the priest performing the rituals at RR Sporting Club puja pandal.
He continued “We have to ask the selfie posers to clear the area so that other devotees can reach us to pay their offerings. This is annoying as well as time consuming.” To curb this, puja organisers tend to enforce their crowd management tactics a little more strictly.
“Visitors in the morning can come and take pictures as there is no rush then. But with sunset, people start to turn up in huge numbers so then we do not allow them to stay to click pictures, they can shoot a video as they enter and depart, if they like,” said Raju Kumar, a member of the RR Sporting Club.