Every year during the Navratri season, clubs and societies in West Bengal organise vibrant Durga Puja pandals. These pandals are often based on different themes and attract large crowds during the 10-day celebrations. This year, the Shree Bhoomi Sporting Club, which is famous for its elaborate and unique pandal, has based their theme on the Vatican City. For this, the club has created its marquee as a replica of the Vatican City’s St Peters Basilica. The pictures and videos of the puja pandal are being widely shared online. It's not Vatican City but Durga Puja pandal in Calcutta. pic.twitter.com/ERXFICdBHK — Meenakshi Barthwal Acharya (@BarthwalAcharya) September 27, 2022 Visited Ma Durga in Vatican City's St. Peters Basilica, Sistine Chapel#DurgaPuja Sree Bhumi #Kolkata A splendid visual representation of “Religion is Personal, Festivals are for Everyone” created by artist Romeo (in pic) Bravo to the 100 artisans who created this in 60days pic.twitter.com/wL2CaE9YBo — Derek O'Brien | ডেরেক ও'ব্রায়েন (@derekobrienmp) September 26, 2022 Vatican City themed Durga Puja pandal!😍 #shreebhumi #Kolkata #DurgaPuja #DurgaPujo #DurgaPujaKolkata #Durgapuja2022 pic.twitter.com/5y2HrQXVm7 — Aman Keshri 🇮🇳 (@amankeshri06) September 28, 2022 Whole night pandal hopping>>>>> Vatican City aur Red Fort bhi dekh liya 🤣♥️ pic.twitter.com/CirqpYzsMo — Sruti 🍀 (@sruti_18) September 30, 2022 Shree Bhumi Sporting club, Kolkata, has created a pandal themed Vatican City's St Peter's Basilica church on the occasion of Durga Puja this year! Bankruptcy of ideas Couldn't find a theme with traditional Bengali flavour ? When will the mentality of slavery leave Indian souls? — Tina Arpan Shah 🇮🇳 @tina661014 on #kooapp (@tina661014) September 25, 2022 guys who criticising festival should know feelings of Durga Puja, festival of integrity discriminating rich or poor, caste or religion. Bengal,place of culture,in every mandap it is reflected. place of Ramakrishna, Bisudhananda,Syamacharan,Anandamayi, Omkarnath many saints — Sandip Chakra@journalist (@Sandip1000007) September 24, 2022 This is masterfully done. Don't be so thin-skinned to get offended. The majesty of Ma Durga is not lessened by this pandle. Enjoy the artisanship, which is truly spectacular here. — Prathit Sen (@prathitsen) September 23, 2022 Sujit Bose, president of the Sree Bhumi Sporting Club, told ANI that it took 60 days to finish the pandal. “More than 100 artisans have made this pandal together. Last year we made Burj Khalifa. All arrangements have been made for crowd management,” he said. Despite getting much attention, the pandal’s theme has not impressed everyone. “Shree Bhumi Sporting club, Kolkata, has created a pandal themed Vatican City’s St Peter’s Basilica church on the occasion of Durga Puja this year! Bankruptcy of ideas Couldn’t find a theme with traditional Bengali flavour? When will the mentality of slavery leave Indian souls?” A Twitter user wrote. However, many netizens defended the theme and argued that in West Bengal pandals were often themed on international locations and that one should focus on craftsmanship and aesthetics. A Twitter user wrote, “This is masterfully done. Don’t be so thin-skinned to get offended. The majesty of Ma Durga is not lessened by this pandle. Enjoy the artisanship, which is truly spectacular here.”
