PM Modi visits Somnath temple for ‘Swabhiman Parv', witnesses mega drone show; fireworks illuminate night sky —Watch | Today News

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who reached the temple town on a two-day visit on Friday evening, witnessed the mega drone show lighting up the night sky, which was organised as part of the Somnath Swabhiman Parv, officials said.

"Feeling blessed to be in Somnath, a proud symbol of our civilisational courage. This visit comes during #SomnathSwabhimanParv, when the entire nation has come together to mark a thousand years since the first attack on the Somnath Temple in 1026. Grateful to the people for the warm welcome," PM Modi said on X. In a subsequent post, he stated, "Jai Somnath! Today's welcome was very special."

It was described as one of the country’s largest drone shows held near a temple complex, according to PTI citing people familiar with the event, stating, “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’.”

Officials said the show also featured an assembly of drones creating “a 3D depiction of the Somnath temple” to commemorate the festival. The projected temple had a floating width of nearly 370 metres, they added.

According to the person quoted earlier, the image of Lord Shiva formed mid-air through a synchronised drone display vertically spanned around 280 metres, while the ‘shivaling’ extended about 330 metres.

The show was executed by BotLab, an IIT Delhi–incubated technology company that had previously organised drone displays for several landmark events, including in Ayodhya in January 2024 during the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony of the Ram temple.

A member of the BotLab team said the drone show was designed as a “thematic aerial narrative”, blending spirituality, history, and national identity through precisely controlled light formations. The tech firm said the sequence depicted Somnath’s journey through the ages, tracing its story from cosmic beginnings to modern-day India.

The company said other planned formations, each tied to a distinct historical or spiritual theme, included ‘Cosmos and Planets: Representing eternity and Somnath’s place within cosmic time’, ‘Damru, Om, and Trishul: Core Shaivite symbols establishing the spiritual tone’, and ‘Shiv Tandav: Depicting divine energy and balance’.

A company representative said there was also a plan to create a formation displaying the text ‘Akhand Somnath, Akhand Bharat’, symbolising civilisational continuity.

The main road leading to the Somnath temple, stretching from the Shankh Circle to the Veer Hamirji Gohil Circle, which features a statue of Veer Hamirji Gohil, a 16th-century Rajput warrior remembered for sacrificing his life while defending the Somnath temple against invaders, was decorated with hoardings, banners, and posters to mark the occasion.

Several large banners erected across the city carried the festival’s name along with the inscription ‘Akhand Somnath, Akhand Bharat’.

(This is a developing story. More to come)