Silver city Cuttack and the Odisha capital, Bhubaneswar, gleamed with over 300 community Durga Puja mandaps this year.

While Cuttack is known for its medha (tableaux), Bhubaneswar is known for its grand Puja pandals with decorated gates.

Durga Puja celebrations started in Cuttack around 500 years ago by one of the disciples of Saint Chaitanya, the Hindu saint from Bengal.

Nearly 163 pandals came up this year during Durga Puja in Cuttack.

The city is famous for its extravagance and the amount of silver and gold used to decorate the Durga idols. The lights, decorations and the distinctive silver tableax (chandi medha) were a feast for the senses. The tradition of bedecking the idols of the goddess and other deities with silver began in 1956 by the Choudhury Bazar Puja Committees of Cuttack.

In Bhubaneswar, around 185 puja mandaps came up this year. The old capital area near the Lingaraj temple focuses on the simple, traditional method of Puja. However, the newer parts of Bhubaneswar showcases grand pandals.

Chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi and former chief minister Naveen Patnaik visited the mandaps on Friday night in Bhubaneswar and greeted people on the occasion of Durga Puja.

Eswara Behera, secretary of the Binod Bihari Balu Bazar Puja Committee of Cuttack, told The Telegraph: “The Puja was first organised here in 1509 by one Banerjee family which had come along with saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, from Nabadwip to Odisha. During their sojourn here, it was the time of Durga Puja and the Banerjee family approached the people of Cuttack for their cooperation. People overwhelmingly supported the move and the Puja began.”

Behera added: “The Puja started at Binod Bihari Mandap and later it was converted into a community Puja by local residents in 1890. All the idols are prepared from red mud. Local vegetables, flowers and a fruit are used to decorate the deity. The descendants of Banerjee family are still active in the rituals.”