Devastated Kedarnath temple theme of puja pandals in Tripura

Agartala, Oct 12: With pujas woven around themes finding precedence in Tripura, at least three

pandals here have chosen to depict the Kedarnath temple which was devastated by floods recently.

"We have chosen the Kedarnath temple, a holy shrine of the Hindus, recently devastated by floods because it is still vividly imprinted in the minds of the people," secretary of the Polestar club Puja Committee, Deepak Acharya said.

Joynagar Juba Sangstha, one of the biggest crowd-pullers here, also has Kedarnath as the theme. "We have taken advantage of a big pond before our puja pandal to show the floods in Uttarakhand which washed away the temple," secretary of the puja committee, Jayanta Bhattacharya.

"We will show this through light and sound effects," he said.

The theme would also portray the glorious role of the army, air force and navy, he said. The Shantikami Sangha will also show the devastation in Uttarakhand. The idols made of fibreglass, brought from Kolkata, have been sculpted to look ancient.

Idols for the puja have been brought from Kolkata

Jarring with the theme, however, is a 64-feet high entry gate built in the shape of the Eiffel tower in Paris. Another show stealer is the replication of 5th century Nalanda university in Bihar by the Bharat Ratna Club, which is known for innovative themes. "The new university at Nalanda will have a new session in 2014.

Visitors will get a feel of entering the university campus," puja committee secretary Mohit Das said.

PTI