Pune: After the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) objected to the Chhatrapati Raja Ram Mandal's Ganesh mandal because of its depiction of the Shri Harmandar Sahib or the Golden Temple in Amritsar, both parties came to a consensus, and agreed that the Mandal be transformed into the Durgiana Mandir instead.
Two senior members of the SGPC visited Pune on Friday afternoon and met Chhatrapati Raja Ram Mandal office-bearers to decide on the matter. After checking the mandal premises they declared themselves impressed with the Durgiana Mandir mandal.
“This (Golden Temple) is a place of respect and faith for us,” Yuvraj Nimbalkar, president of Chhatrapati Raja Ram Mandal had said on Thursday afternoon.
Nimbalkar was elated after the issue which had lasted three days had been resolved. "This issue about a replica of the Golden Temple being constructed without permission in Pune has been put to rest. The Chhatrapati Raja Ram Mandal was clear that the dispute should not continue because we intended to respect the Sikh faith," he added.
As per sources, during the discussion with the SGPC, the Raja Ram Mandal was told to consider an alternative because the depiction of the Golden Temple would 'hurt religious sentiments'.
A member said, "They asked to correct it as it would send across a good message and not hurt the Sikh community. We agreed immediately. We honoured the advice because Ganeshotsav is about taking everybody along.”
Nimbalkar said that the mandal wanted to pay tribute to the Sikh community, 2024 being Guru Nanak’s 555th birth anniversary. "It is because of this that the Mandal decided to construct a model of the Golden Temple for our Ganesh Mandal," he said.
Durgiana Mandir or the Golden Temple express the same message and have the same spirit, Nimbalkar said asserting that God is the same for all faiths and only the names vary.
The Durgiana temple will have an idol of Ganpati Bappa present inside it. However, the organisers will adhere to Sikh culture by making sure that visitors cover their heads when they entire the premises (scarves and dupattas will be provided). Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya laid the foundation stone of the temple on Dussehra day in 1924.
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