Kolkata: A Durga Puja pandal in Bhawanipore will be displaying a life-size replica of Mother Teresa in honour of her recent canonisation.
The organisers have also created a special ‘selfie zone’ so that pandal hoppers can take pictures with the statue.
The 75 Pally pandal has pulled out all the stops to attract the maximum crowd this puja festival. Along with their original theme, ‘Mirror never lies’, the idea to set up a 4 ft 9 inch statue of the Mother made of fibre, came later.
“The themes are decided much in advance. It was quite late for us to keep Mother as a whole theme. But after her canonisation ceremony and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s trip to Rome, we decided to do something as a tribute to Saint Teresa,” Subir Das, secretary of Bhawanipore 75 Pally, told The Indian Express.
“We have created a special selfie zone around the statue, giving people a chance to get a photograph clicked with Saint Teresa,” he added.
Kolkata Police have put restrictions on clicking selfies to prevent overcrowding.
The statue, which has been the talk of the town, was created by artist Kapil Biswas and is now complete.
The other attraction of this pandal is its entrance. Visitors will enter the pandal through gates shaped like elephants that are 40 ft high. The interiors have been decorated with Rajasthani and Gujarati artwork and millions of mirror shards which will give the pandal a glittering effect, said an organizer. “We are promoting young talent. Artist Biman Saha has given shape to the theme, while the idol has been made by artist Parimal Pal. We are hopeful that this 52nd year will attract more crowds, making it a grand success for us,” said Das.
The organisers have also composed a theme song linking goddess Durga and Saint Teresa, which was released by Mamata on Monday.