Sambalpur Sital Sashti committee places order for Rs 1 crore silver tableau-cum-throne with master craftsman

BHUBANESWAR: After Cuttack, it is the western Odisha city of Sambalpur that seems to have taken a liking for the silver filigree tableau.
The Nandapara Sital Sashti Yatra Committee, Sambalpur, has placed an order for a silver throne-cum-tableau (Parbha) with national-award-winning master craftsman Pankaj Sahoo of Cuttack.
The filigree work, to cost around Rs 1 crore, will be studded with at least 500 pieces of American diamonds of 12 to 14 carat each, to be procured from jewellers in Jaipur, Rajasthan.
The “Parbha” will be used by Lord Shiva and goddess Parbati for the “Nagar Parikrama” during the famous Sital Sashti festival, to be held in June.
“The committee approached me after seeing the 8.5 ft tableau that I had made for goddess Pataneswari of Sambalpur,” said Sahoo, who also made the silver mementoes that were given during the men’s hockey World Cup.
More than 100 kg of silver will be used for the tableau that will be 12 ft high and 10 ft wide. “People in our locality have donated money and silver for the ‘Parbha’. The initial estimate was around Rs 70 lakh, but it has now gone up to Rs 1 crore with the rise in silver price,” said Samir Ranjan Babu, president of Nandapara Sital Sashti Yatra Committee. Each American diamond will cost Rs 700 to Rs 800 per piece.
Though work on the tableau started in 2018, it had to be stopped during the pandemic only to resume in September this year. Currently, 10 to 12 artisans are working on it. Around 60kg silver has already been crafted and handed over to the committee members for them to install on a metal frame.
“We had planned for the tableau 12 to 13 years ago and have already made gold jewellery worth Rs 26 lakh for the deities,” said Babu.