Durga Puja pandal to recreate France’s National Opera House

New Delhi, Sep 4 (PTI) One of city’s oldest Durga Pujapandals has themed its celebrations around world peace thisyear by recreating the opulent Palais Garnier in Paris toexpress solidarity with the people of the European country whoremained united and strong in the face of terrorism. Delhi’s Matri Mandir Society will pay tribute to theFrench people for their resilience following a spate of terrorattacks, through their golden jubilee celebrations of theBengali festival this year to be held from October 7 toOctober 11. "At a time when the world is going through turmoil andfighting the menace of terrorism, we thought it would beappropriate to dedicate this year’s Durga Puja to world peaceas Maa Durga brought peace to the land by eliminatingMahisasur," says Debashish Saha, General Secretary, MatriMandir Society. The French capital has suffered a series of terror strikessince last year — beginning with an attack on the offices ofsatirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in January 2015, followed byseveral mass shootings and a suicide bombing across multiplelocations, including the Bataclan theatre that left 130 peopledead, in November. The grandeur of the National Opera House will bereplicated at the pandal in the form of an oval shaped hallmade out of iron cast, wood and metallic sheets. The original colour scheme of red and gold will dominatealong with balconies, typical of neoclassical architecture. "Despite the attacks France has not been deterred and isback on its feet sending a strong message all over the worldthat this wonderful world cannot be destroyed," says Saha. The constructions of the pandal which began almost a monthback are likely to be completed by early next month. A half-finished idol of Goddess Durga, made by Kolkatabased award-winning sculptor Pradip Rudra Pal has already beenbrought to the city and will be completed by the artist andhis team here. "The artist is among the greatest sculptors that Kolkatahas ever seen. His family has been in the profession ofcreating idols for over 60 years," says Saha. A unique attraction at the society’s Durga Pujafestivities this year will be the 7-membered-troupe of dhakis(drummers) lead by Gokul Das, out of which three are womenpercussionists. Das has performed alongside musical greats like PanditRavi Shankar, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Anuskha Shankar as well aspopular Bollywood composer Shantanu Moitra. The cultural line up will also include Bollywood singerKavita Krishnamurthy and Bengali folk crooner Aarko Mukherjee.PTI TRS ARCTRS