Golden pots from TN to add glitter to Patna temple

The lustre of Mahavir Mandir in city is all set to increase as two gold kalashs (spires) will be installed on the gopuras (ornate towers) atop the temple’s Singh Dwar on Saturday.

Chennai-based gold coating company Smart Creation has made the rust-free golden spires costing Rs 40 lakh. “The big kalash, which is 13-feet high and weighs about 118 kg, will be the largest gold kalash among such structures in the State. The other kalash weighs 70 kg and is 9 ft high,” said Acharya Kishore Kunal, secretary of the Mahavir Sansthan Nyas Samiti.

The Mahavir Mandir Trust, which runs the shrine, had assigned the job to the Chennai firm in July. “It took them three months to complete the task under the guidance of Ravichandran (CEO of the firm) and Mohammed Alauddin, who has about 30 years of experience in handling copper, silver and gold works in over 400 temples across the world,” added Kunal, who is also the administrator of Bihar State Religious Trust Board (BSRTB).

Kunal said the three micron gold coated kalash have been prepared using the finest 18 gauge copper sheets and the work was done by 10 artisans for nearly 90 days. Soon after its installation, the existing spires will be covered with the best quality of red granites brought from Bangalore and white marbles from Vietnam.