Navratri 2026 In Bhopal: Multi-Crore Durga Puja Pandals Showcase Kainchi Dham, Haunted Haveli And Dubai's Miracle Garden

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Durga Puja pandal at Vijay Market in Barkheda this year is themed on Neem Karoli Baba’s Kainchi Dham Ashram in Nainital district of Uttarakhand. A replica of the Dham, including the Hanuman idol installed by the Baba there and his famous blanket, forms part of the pandal.

Rambabu Sharma, president of the 38-year-old Vijay Market Durga Utsav Samiti, said that their choice of theme was not inspired by the massive success of Hanuman Ansh - the biopic on Neem Karoli Baba. “We had decided on the theme last year itself.

The film’s success may draw bigger crowds to our Pandal,” he said. The pandal, spread over 70,000 square feet, has cost more than Rs 35 lakh. The idol of goddess Durga is 15 feet tall.

Bhopalites will also be able to have 'darshan' of Tripur Sundari Mata (Tripura), Mahakal (Ujjain), Nageshwar Dham (Dwarka, Gujarat), Kankali Mata (Bhopal), Saptashrungi Devi (Nashik) and Somnath Temple (Gujarat) during the Navratri, which began on Sunday.

Some of the Durga pandals are themed on non-religious places like Dubai’s Miracle Garden and a haunted mansion.

The pandal at Barkhera Pathani, built for Rs 1.35 crore, will have replicas of Khatu Shyam (Sikar, Rajasthan), Pashupatinath and Muktinath (Nepal) and Saptashrungi (Nashik).

The pandal at Bittan Market, built for Rs 1.30 crore, will showcase the history of Gujarat’s Somnath Temple of the last 100 years. The organising committee has spent Rs 1.30 lakh on the pandal, which will have replicas of more than 40 gods and goddesses.

The pandal at Kotra Sultanabad, built for Rs 1 crore, is themed on a haunted 'haveli' and will include a waterfall and a stream of blood. It will house 12-foot-tall idols of goddess Durga and one of her forms, Kaalratri.

The visitors to the pandal at New Market, built for Rs 48 lakh, will be able to have 'darshan' of a 60-foot-high replica of Nageshwar Temple - one of the Jyotirlingas - located at Dwarka in Gujarat.

The 5,000-square-foot pandal will also have smaller replicas of all the 12 Jyotirlingas.

The pandal at MP Nagar, built for Rs 12 lakh, will showcase Kailash Mansarovar and the one at Kolar will have a replica of Ma Tripursundari Temple. Dubai’s Miracle Garden will be the theme of the pandal at 10 No. Market built for Rs 55 lakh.