Andhra Pradesh - Vijayawada   

Amarnath shrine replica to be feast for eyes

Mega effort: The scenery along the ‘pilgrimage to Amarnath' being replicated for an expo in Vijayawada.

VIJAYAWADA: A huge replica of Amarnath Himalayan cave-shrine will be a feast for eyes of visitors to the 45-day long Fun Fair Handloom Handicrafts exhibition, which will start at the PWD Grounds from Tuesday amid large scale arrangements for fun lovers of the city.

The highlight of the Amarnath show will be a 6.5-foot-high ice Shiva lingam to reflect the original formation at the snow-clad mountain shrine. Also, replicas of six temples will come up in the setting to bring alive the entire tour of Amarnath yatra. About 400 artists have worked to capture the spirit of the tour to cave shrine in the huge replica.

“It is not intended for dharma pracharam. Our aim is to attract the people to our exhibition in which a variety of handlooms and handicrafts will be exhibited,” says M. Rajasekhara Reddy, managing director of Fun Fair Exhibition. Vijayawada is the third city after Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam that Fun Fair has erected Amarnath Yatra replica. Moreover, this is the largest with the replica measuring 65 ft high and 350 ft wide.

Stating that their expo was planned to coincide with the Dasara utsav celebrations, Mr. Rajasekhara Reddy said there would be nearly 400 stalls featuring handloom and handicrafts items from different parts of the country. The famous Kondapalli, Kalamkari, Narasapur laces and various other items will be available at the Fun Fair exhibition. Nearly 2,000 artistes and their families have been working traditionally on these items.

Mr. Rajasekhara Reddy said the expo will be open 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. on regular days while the timings are 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Sundays and holidays. There will be cultural programmes and about 30 amusements items. Discounts up to 20 per cent will be offered on some items and Vasan Eye Care will provide free testing on the occasion.

Anil Sharma, author of “Kashmir: Feelings For All, Forever”, hailed the expo as a superb effort to showcase the beauty and charm of Himalayan shrines especially Amarnath. A regular pilgrim to mountain shrine, Mr. Sharma said that the cave replica expo would be a good opportunity for those who never visited the Himalayas to look at its scenic beauty and spiritual splendour.

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