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Durga Puja: Illumination at Lucknow’s Kali Bari temple centre of attraction
Depiction of the Ganga flowing from the crown of Lord Shiva’s head and seers worshipping Mahadev set to give a visual treat to visitors
As in the past, the grand illumination at 159-year-old Kali Bari temple near Ghasiyari Mandi is attracting one and all. Here, one can see the depiction of the Ganga flowing from the crown of Lord Shiva’s head and seers worshiping ‘Him’ for bringing the river on the earth.
It has been depicted through LED lights at the entrance of the temple. As a part of Navratri and Durga Puja, the temple trust got Illumination done by decorators of Bengal. “We have set up a huge welcome gate which is 25 feet high and all lit up with LED bulbs depicting Radha Krishna performing dance (Raas Lila) with many of our Hindu Gods and Goddess,” said Gautam Bhattacharya, president, managing committee, Kali Bari Temple Trust.
“From main crossing to the temple, we have put up images of Hindu deities which will be a visual treat for devotees,. Also, images of popular cartoon characters are there,” he added. The temple spent nearly ₹3 lakh on illumination and it took nearly 10 days to finish the work.
Kali Bari temple is celebrating Navratri and Sharadiya Durga Puja starting from Monday (September 26) to October 4. On Sunday evening, a stage programme “Mahisasur Mardini Mahalaya” (Chandipaath) was recited to invoke the deity. It was presented by “Geeti Chondo” troupe of Lucknow comprising 20 singers and musicians.
It was held under the direction of Kaveri Banerjee while “Chandipaath” was recited by Joyonto Munshi. On October 2 morning, “Purohit Boron” ritual will be held. Abhijit Sarkar, president, Board of Trustees, will perform this ritual heralding the beginning of Durga Puja.
In 2016, after the Indian Army’s surgical strikes on terrorists’ camps across the LoC, the Kali Bari temple Trust had saluted the brave soldiers in their own way. The temple had then been brightly illuminated and the entire stretch between Shubham Cinema and the church near Qaiserbagh was decorated. The grand welcome gate near the cinema has the Tricolour on top of “India Gate” and on either side there were war planes, Indian soldiers and tanks.
CM extends Navratri greetings, appeals for caution
Extending greetings and good wishes to the people of the state on the occasion of Sharadiya Navratri beginning Monday, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday appealed to Durga Puja organisers to take all precautions in view of the pandemic.
In a message issued here, Yogi said worship of Goddess Durga is of utmost importance in Indian culture. Maa Durga is the deity of Shakti, he said.
