Mega drone show depicts Somnath temple in 3D, huge Shiva formation; PM witnesses

Somnath (Gujarat): A mega drone show featuring several planned thematic formations, including huge images of Lord Shiva and a 'shivling', and a 3D depiction of the Somnath temple, lit up the night sky near the ancient shrine here on Saturday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived here in the evening on a two-day visit to the temple town, witnessed the show, held as part of the Somnath Swabhiman Parv, officials said.

During the nearly 15-minute show, one of the formations also depicted the destruction faced by the historic temple in Gujarat’s Gir Somnath district over the past century.

The Swabhiman Parv marks 1,000 years since Mahmud of Ghazni invaded the Somnath temple, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said on Friday.

Despite repeated attempts for its destruction, the Somnath temple stands today as a powerful symbol of resilience, faith and national pride, owing to the collective resolve and efforts to restore it to its ancient glory, the PMO statement said.

After Independence, the efforts for the restoration of the temple were undertaken by Vallabhbhai Patel.

One of the most important milestones in this journey of revival was achieved in 1951, when the restored Somnath temple was formally opened to devotees in the presence of the then-president of India, Rajendra Prasad.

The event, billed as one of the largest drone shows hosted in the proximity of a temple site in the country, also paid tribute to figures like Patel and Veer Hamirji Gohil by depicting their images in separate formations, besides that of Prime Minister Modi. Veer Hamirji Gohil was a 16th-century Rajput warrior known for his sacrifice defending the Somnath temple against invaders.

“According to the plan, the show will feature 3,000 drones and last around 15 minutes. The planned thematic formations include the depiction of Lord Shiva, as also of a big 'shivaling',” a person familiar with the matter told PTI earlier.

The image of Lord Shiva to be portrayed mid-air through a choreographed assembly of drones will vertically span about 280 metres, while the 'shivaling' will span 330 metres, he had said.

The show was executed by BotLab, an IIT Delhi-incubated tech company, which earlier organised drone shows on various landmark occasions, including in Ayodhya in January 2024, when the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ of the Ram temple was held.

The drone show was built as a “thematic aerial narrative”, combining spirituality, history and national identity through precision-controlled light formations, a BotLab team member said.

The sequence reflected Somnath’s journey across centuries, from cosmic origins to contemporary India, the tech firm said.

Other formations, each aligned with a specific historical or spiritual theme, included 'Shiv Tandav: Depicting divine energy and balance', as well as the text -- ‘Akhand Somnath, Akhand Bharat’, representing civilisational continuity, the company representative said.

The main road leading to the temple, from the Shankh Circle to the Veer Hamirji Gohil Circle, which bears a statue of Gohil, was decked up with hoardings, banners and posters to commemorate the occasion.

Many huge banners put up in the city bore the festival’s name and ‘Akhand Somnath, Akhand Bharat’ inscribed on them.