Pandal

Puja pavilions

In Hindu observances, organizers erect temporary shrines called puja pandals to house sacred images during major religious celebrations. Communities construct these pavilions for events including Durga Puja, Ganesh Chaturthi and Krishna Janmashtami. Designers often shape the structures to resemble classical temples, rural huts or contemporary skyscrapers. Beyond serving as devotional spaces for prayer and offering, these large canopies accommodate community cultural programs, public fairs and festive gatherings.

Vesak thorana displays

During the Buddhist festival of Vesak in Sri Lanka, craftspeople erect towering flat-fronted structures known as Vesak thorana. These large two-dimensional displays feature painted panels illustrating scenes from the life of Gautama Buddha alongside Jathaka Katha cultural stories. Teams of skilled artists and electricians collaborate to mount intricate, changing light displays across the facade. While builders traditionally framed the backdrops with areca nut palm timber, modern makers increasingly rely on metal scaffolding to support the extensive structures.

Festivals and community canopies

Pandals take a variety of forms across the wider region. In Bangladesh, where people also refer to them as shamiana, wide fabric canopies are erected in open fields or outside mosques for Eid prayers, Milad gatherings, Mezban feasts and weddings. Elsewhere, pandals serve as ceremonial gates to greet arriving visitors or as raised platforms for splashing water during the Thingyan new year festival. In Sri Lanka, communities also erect dedicated structures during Gammaduwa village rebirth rituals dedicated to the goddess Pattini.

How Pandal is kept

Preparation begins weeks before an event with planning, funding and sourcing materials. Builders and artisans assemble timber poles, areca palm trunks or metal scaffolding in open grounds or over roads. Decorators stretch fabric or mount painted boards on the framework, while electricians wire intricate light sequences. During the festival, the shelter hosts prayer, storytelling, banquets or public entertainment before it is dismantled.

When and where

Pandals appear throughout the year to coincide with major religious and seasonal occasions. Key times include autumn during Durga Puja, spring and early summer for Vesak and Thingyan, and the dates of Eid, weddings or village rituals.

These temporary pavilions are common across India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Builders raise them along public roads, within neighborhood squares, across sports fields or directly in front of private homes and places of worship.

What Pandal means

A pandal transforms an everyday open space into a temporary sacred or festive sanctuary. By hosting sacred images, narrative art and hospitable feasts, the structure serves as a focal point for collective devotion, community solidarity and shared celebration.

Days Pandal is marked

Questions people ask about Pandal

See also

DiwaliA five-day festival of lights celebrated across India and its diaspora to mark the victory of light over darkness.NowruzThe Iranian new year at the March equinox, kept with fire, greenery and picnicsHoliA spring festival of colours and bonfires that marks the end of winter and the triumph of good over evil.VesakA day to honor the birth, awakening, and passing of the Buddha, kept by Buddhists across Asia.

Good reading and sources

• Pandal on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-04.