Pinarayi to unveil Guru statue at Kanakakunnu Palace today

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will unveil the statue of social reformer Sree Narayana Guru in Thiruvananthapuram on ‘Gurusamadhi’ day on Monday. 

The 8-ft tall statue, which was conceived by the Cultural Affairs Department, is coming up on the government land near Kanakakunnu Palace here. The statue that weighs around 850 kg is being installed to commemorate the centenary of ‘We have No Caste’ proclamation by Guru. It took two-and-a-half years for sculptor Unni Kanayi to finish the statue. 

“This has been the most challenging work in my career because of the huge size. Initially, the statue was made with clay and was later layered with wax and bronze. Doing the sculpture of a prominent figure is very challenging as people know and remember their faces. 

We have to replicate it without fail, else the work would go wasted and people will criticise,” said Unni Kanayi. The work was evaluated by Cultural Department director Sadasivan, Lalithakala Akademi chairman Nemom Pushparaj when Unni finished the clay statue. Later, Cultural Affairs Minister A K Balan reviewed the work via a video call.

The construction work of the Sree Narayana Guru Park, which is also designed by sculptor Unni, is progressing.

“The park will have a 700sqft wall featuring the life events of Narayana Guru. The pandemic situation has adversely affected the work,” said Unni, who had done many works, including the statue of Thunchathh Ezhuthachan and AKG. Cultural Affairs Minister A K Balan and Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran will also be present on the occasion.