LUCKNOW, Sept. 25 -- Lucknow's pandals have become precincts of commerce, marketing, of making one's brand visible and of being visible.

With spending on the frills, buntings and pomp going through the pandal roof, the city's puja economy is now estimated to be worth several hundred thousands, drawing parallels with the big-budget puja efforts in Kolkata.

Unlike the fervour-fired simplicity of olden days, now, grandiose replicas of famous temples and architectural marvels around the world with themed decoration worth lakhs, pandals across the city compete with each other in scale to attract crowds for brand promotion.

One of the largest and most expensive pandals in the city is Jankipuram's Thailand Pagoda/ Swaminarayan temple model wo...