KOLKATA: A Durga puja pandal, themed around St Peters' Basilica in Vatican City, has become the talk of the town in West Bengal capital Kolkata even before it has been opened for public.
Sreebhumi Sporting Club in Lake Town — that had created an uproar through the country last year after creating a replica of Burj Khalifa — has built a replica of St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City this year while celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Last year, the replica of Burj Khalifa was forced to shut down by Ashtami due to a massive crowd gathering around the pandal that created a massive traffic jam on VIP Road and had left multiple revellers injured in a stampede like situation.
Pandal opens for all on MondayBengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee inaugurated the puja on Thursday along with two other pujas in the city.
However, it will be open for public viewing only from Monday, after Mahalaya.
“Our artisans have worked day and night for more than three months to put together this pandal. We have put extra effort in making wider entry and exit gates and ensure there is no overcrowding,” said Sujit Bose, Bengal fire minister and the chief patron of the puja committee.
White direction and depth-controlled LED lights A senior member of the organising committee said there has been extensive use of white direction and depth-controlled LED lights in the pandal which will light up the main pandal premises and its adjacent areas to give the look and feel of Vatican City but the lights wont be sprayed in the air that can cause trouble to air space.
The main pandal is built at a width of 54 feet and a height of 65 feet portraying the renaissance styled church.
Replicas of Renaissance and Baroque artThe interior of the pandal is filled with replicas of many masterpieces of Renaissance and Baroque art which are seen inside the original St Peter’s Basilica.
There is also a replica of the dome – modified from Michelangelo’s design.
While the theme music of the puja was sung by Shaan, inside the main pandal a soft instrumental music will be played in tune with the sacred music played at the Vatican City church.
Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, Location Guesser and Mini Crossword. Tamaghna Banerjee, a reporter from Kolkata, covers crime, aviatio...
Read MoreTamaghna Banerjee, a reporter from Kolkata, covers crime, aviation, human rights and politics. He has a keen interest in human interest and rural reporting. He has done his postgraduation in journalism and mass communication. He has a total of 14 years in journalism.
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