The sprawling Morabadi grounds in Ranchi is getting ready for the Republic Day parade when a stellar show will be put up by the state government. As many as 200 artists have been hired from Bengal’s Purulia district and Jharkhand to design tableaux of 14 government departments, depicting historical sites and various schemes. Thermocol sheets, bamboos and thin plywood sheaths lay scattered as men and women put their creativity and imagination to best use. Arti S. Sahuliyar visits the spot and chooses four tableaux, which were half-complete but are sure to steal the show on the big day

 

Information and public relations department

The temple village of Itkhori in Chatra district, 63km from Hazaribagh, will come alive once this tableau is ready. Itkhori, a historical temple site known for confluence of three religions, is famous for the temple of Goddess Bhadrakali. Ganga Prasad, a local artist, was seen guiding a team of 35 from Purulia to craft the statue of Lord Buddha. The half-complete temple structure was mounted on a vehicle. “We started our work from January 14. By January 25, you will see the entire temple with all three deities (Bhadrakali, Punchmukhi Hanuman and Lord Shiva) dating back to 7th century AD. There is also a Buddhist deity and blackstone sculpture,” he added.

 

 

State art, culture and youth affairs department

Out of the total 27 sites of cultural importance identified by the department for their conservation, a team of 50 Purulia-based artists worked on a model of Navratangarh in Sisai block of Gumla district, the capital of Nagvanshi rulers in the 17th-18th Century. Ramesh Prasad Sharma, one of the main hands who visited Navratangarh to study the archaeological site, said: “We have completed the main terracotta structure depicting the ruins, a water tank at the centre and black stone hills all around it. Our tableau, mounted atop a vehicle, will also have a few tourists in it.”

State drinking water and sanitation department 

The model, which is almost ready, pays a tribute to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious clean Ganga project apart from the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. “The clean Ganga project is soon going to take off in Sahebganj district. Hence, our tableau has been dedicated to Sahebganj,” said Ramesh Prasad Sharma (right), also in-charge of this tableau.

State forest, environment and climate change and tourism departments 

An attempt has been made to upheld the flora and fauna of Jharkhand. “We have tried to show the state’s expansive forests, housing elephants, deer and other wild animals. We will also depict national parks and important tourism sites like the ropeway at Trikut Hills in Deoghar,” said Ramesh Prasad Singh, under whose supervision work is going on at a steady pace.