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A ''pandal'' in
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and neighbouring countries, is a fabricated structure, either temporary or permanent, that is used at many places such as either outside a building or in an open area such as along a public road or in front of a house. This canopy or big tent is often used in a religious or other events that gathers people together, such as a
wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...
,
fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Types Variations of fairs incl ...
,
exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibition ...
or
festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...
.


In Hinduism

In
Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
, a ''pandal'' is a temporary structure set up to usually venerate the god and goddess such as
Ganesha Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu d ...
during
Ganesh Chaturthi Ganesh Chaturthi (ISO: ), also known as Vinayak Chaturthi (), or Ganeshotsav () is a Hindu festival commemorating the birth of the Hindu god Ganesha. The festival is marked with the installation of Ganesha's clay idols privately in homes and p ...
,
Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...
during Krishna Janmasthami or the Goddess
Durga Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around co ...
during
Durga Puja Durga Puja ( bn, দুর্গা পূজা), also known as Durgotsava or Sharodotsava, is an annual Hindu festival originating in the Indian subcontinent which reveres and pays homage to the Hindu goddess Durga and is also celebrated ...
, known as '' puja pandal''. Pandals are also used for nonreligious activities. For instance, these
tents A tent () is a shelter consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over, attached to a frame of poles or a supporting rope. While smaller tents may be free-standing or attached to the ground, large tents are usually anchored using gu ...
are put up during cultural programs.


In Buddhism in Sri Lanka

In a ritual unique to
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
, ''Vesak thorana'' pandals are set up during the
Vesak Vesak (Pali: ''Vesākha''; sa, Vaiśākha), also known as Buddha Jayanti, Buddha Purnima and Buddha Day, is a holiday traditionally observed by Buddhism, Buddhists in South Asia and Southeast Asia as well as Tibet and Mongolia. The festival ...
festival, with illuminated panels illustrated with episodes from the life of the
Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...
and Jathaka Katha or stories based on
Buddhist culture Buddhist culture is exemplified through Buddhist art, Buddhist architecture, Buddhist music and Buddhist cuisine. As Buddhism expanded from the Indian subcontinent it adopted artistic and cultural elements of host countries in other parts of Asia ...
. The fundamental concept of a Vesak Pandal is a creatively made, massive structure, decorated with a large number of lights and paintings mounted on a huge supporting structure. This supporting structure is traditionally built with ''Puwak Gasa'' (
Areca nut ''Areca'' is a genus of 51 species of palms in the family Arecaceae, found in humid tropical forests from the islands of the Philippines, Malaysia and India, across Southeast Asia to Melanesia. The generic name ''Areca'' is derived from a name ...
trees). Creating the structure requires creativity, inventiveness and the high-level expertise of a number of artists and light-system electricians, not to mention funding and planning in advance. The goal is to create a very beautiful and colorful experience. Many different and dedicated groups of experts participating often pass down this work from generation to generation or master to student. With change of time, nowadays Pandols are constructed using
Scaffolding Scaffolding, also called scaffold or staging, is a temporary structure used to support a work crew and materials to aid in the construction, maintenance and repair of buildings, bridges and all other man-made structures. Scaffolds are widely use ...
, which doesn't require cutting down of "Puwak" Trees as a result. The most significant part of this display uses simple techniques in an intelligent way to create lighting on the front of the pandal. Most of the time this is a 2D structure.


Other types of pandals

Pandals are also set up during
Gammaduwa Gammaduwa is a village in Sri Lanka. It is located within Matale District, Central Province with a picturesque landscape and temperate climate. It is situated at an elevation of 931 m (3,054 ft) above sea level. The area is mildly den ...
(village rebirth) festivals, honouring the goddess
Pattini Pattini (, ,), is considered a guardian deity of Sri Lanka in Sri Lankan Buddhism and Sinhalese folklore. She is also worshipped by Sri Lankan Tamil Hindus by the name of '' Kannaki Amman''. She is considered the patron goddess of fertility ...
. Pandal also refers to platforms from which people splash water during the new year celebrations of the
Thingyan Thingyan (, ; Arakanese: ; from Sanskrit '' saṁkrānti,'' which means "transit f the Sun from Pisces to Aries) is the Burmese New Year Festival that usually occurs in middle of April. Thingyan is the first ever water festival celebrated in ...
festival. A pandal can also be a
ceremonial gate A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin '' caerimonia''. Church and civil (secular ...
, built to welcome visitors. A city in the Nilgiris district of the state of
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
is named
Pandalur Pandalur is the headquarters of Neliyalam Municipality and Pandalur taluk in Nilgiri District of Tamilnadu. Location Pandalur is located at 11° 29' 0" N, 76° 20' 0" E, at an altitude of 1100 meters. Its standard time zone is UTC/GMT+05:30. Pan ...
.


References

Festivals in India Festivals in Sri Lanka Objects used in Hindu worship Buddhist practices Architecture in India {{Architecture-stub