Shimla, February 24
It is a gift from “God’s own Country” to the Valley of Gods.

Faith will reverberate resoundingly in the hill state of Himachal Pradesh, where the two amazingly huge ‘ashtdhatu’ bells being cast in Kerala will adorn the gateway to a temple of learning near Solan.

Claimed to be the biggest bells in the country, they are to be installed at the proposed Mohan Shakti National Heritage Park near Solan, the resonance of which will symbolise the spread and preservation of ancient Indian culture and heritage.

Twentyfive artisans from Mannar village in Kerala, as if inspired by faith, worked day and night for two years to churn out the gigantic creations.

The over Rs 100 crore project of the Heritage Park is already underway at village Hart near Ashwani khud almost seven kms from the Kalka-Shimla highway. The ‘ashtdhatu’ bells made of eight metals are to be installed on a 28-feet high gate to the Durga Temple, which is under construction. The bells have cost over Rs 30 lakh. As they are made of ‘ashtdhatu’ their resonance can be heard at distant places. The bells are 6.5 feet (3,800 kg) and 6 feet (3200 kg) high.

“Since the gong of the bells alone weighs 200 kgs and is to be installed at a height, the bells will be electrically operated,” informed Mr Inderjeet Verma, Administrator of the Trust. The project, a brainchild of Brig Kapil Mohan, Chairman of the Mohan Shakti Trust, is to be completed in three phases. The then Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, laid the foundation stone for this unique Heritage Centre on December 1, 2002.