West Bengal: Siliguri club brings slice of Benaras ghats for revelers this Durga Puja

Siliguri (West Bengal) [India], October 18 : The Swastika Yuvak Sangha, a club in the Siliguri district of West Bengal, is set to bring a slice of Benaras for Durga Puja revellers.
The club is set to showcase the popular Benaras ghats at their Durga Puja pandal.
Sharing what prompted them to come up with this theme, the organisers of this community Puja said the idea was to make the younger generations aware of the many landmarks and symbols representing the country's heritage.
The artisans designed and decorated the pandal to give it the look, feel and flavour of the ghats, the organisers said, adding that the part of the pandal modelled on the temple has figures replicating the seers, who sit on the stairs of the ghats under the shade of umbrellas.
The look of the pandal is further accentuated with artificial lamps, boats and traditional idols.
Manajit Sarkar, an artisan from Kolkata who was part of the team tasked with shaping the pandal, said, "We themed our Puja pandal this year on the ghats of Benaras. We wanted to bring a slice of the temple town for the revellers here as Benaras represents the country's spiritual capital. We have also tried to showcase the traditional art forms of Benaras. We also wanted to highlight Sanatana Dharma and our religious traditions."
Bappa Paul, secretary, of the Durga puja committee of Swastika Yuvak Sangha, said, "We should forget our time-honoured religious practices and beliefs."
While this community Puja has themed its pandal on the ghats of Benaras, the Siliguri town is dotted with several other pandals depicting contemporary themes and subjects.