Replicas of the Amarnath cave and the Dhari Devi and Dwarkadhish temples take shape for Navratri in Armori

Armori (Gadchiroli district): Mandals in Armori, whose Durga and Sharada festival has a 50-year tradition, are preparing grand religious tableaux this year, Tarun Bharat reported. The Navdurga Utsav Mandal at Motor Stand is recreating the 'Baba Barfani' ice lingam of the Amarnath cave along with a replica of the well-known Dhari Devi temple in Uttarakhand.

The two-storey tableau, 40 feet high, is being built over about 8,000 sq ft. After seeing Nandi at the entrance, devotees will walk through a cave-like path, visit Dhari Devi, experience the Amarnath cave and the ice lingam of Baba Barfani, and end with darshan of the goddess. Office-bearers of the mandal left for Uttarakhand on October 6 to bring a sacred flame from the Dhari Devi temple and are due back in Armori with it on the morning of October 11, the day of Ghatasthapana.

Artisans from Kolkata and 10 to 15 workers are building it under the guidance of Hinganghat architect Haridas Pende, and the work is in its final stage. The same mandal built a Baba Barfani tableau 15 to 20 years ago, which drew huge crowds.

At Nehru Chowk, the Sharada Utsav Mandal has built a replica of the Dwarkadhish temple of Dwarka in Gujarat and a scene of Lord Krishna's Kaliya Mardan, about 25 feet high over some 2,000 sq ft. An idol of goddess Sharada about 11.5 feet tall, made by sculptor Rajesh Chakradhari of Rajnandgaon in Chhattisgarh, will be the main attraction; the Kaliya Mardan idol is by Mumbai sculptor Andhare, and the tableau has about 10 idols in all. For 36 years the mandal has staged tableaux on themes such as Kumbhakarna, the Narasimha avatar, Kedarnath, Ujjain's Mahakal and the Jagannath temple.

Sources: Tarun Bharat Nagpur; Tarun Bharat Nagpur