Thiruvalluvar Statue
| ஐயன் திருவள்ளுவர சிலை | |
The Thiruvalluvar Statue in Kanyakumari
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| Coordinates | 8°04′40″N 77°33′14″E / 8.0777°N 77.5539°ECoordinates: 8°04′40″N 77°33′14″E / 8.0777°N 77.5539°E |
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| Location | Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Designer | Dr. V. Ganapati Sthapati |
| Type | statue |
| Material | Stone and concrete |
| Height | 40.6 metres (133 ft) |
| Beginning date | September 7, 1990 |
| Completion date | 1999 |
| Opening date |
January 1, 2000 |
| Restored date | |
January 1, 2000
The Thiruvalluvar Statue is a 133 feet (40.6 m) tall stone sculpture of the Tamil poet and philosopher Tiruvalluvar, author of the Thirukkural. It is located atop a small island near the town of Kanyakumari on the southernmost Coromandel Coast, where two seas and an ocean meet; the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea, and the Indian Ocean.
The statue has a height of 95 feet (29 m) and stands upon a 38-foot (11.5 m) pedestal that represents the 38 chapters of "virtue" in the Thirukkural. The statue standing on the pedestal represents "wealth" and "pleasures", signifying that wealth and love be earned and enjoyed on the foundation of solid virtue.
The combined height of the statue and pedestal is 133 feet (40.5 m), denoting the 133 chapters in the Thirukkural. It has a total weight of 7000 tons.
The statue, with its slight bend around the waist is reminiscent of a dancing pose of the ancient Indian deities like Nataraja. It was sculpted by the Indian sculptor Dr. V. Ganapati Sthapati, who also created the Iraivan Temple.
Its opening ceremony was on January 1, 2000 (Millennium). The monument was hit by the Indian Ocean Tsunami on December 26, 2004.
In 1979, the then Prime Minister Morarji Desai laid the foundation stone for the statue. However, the installation and the sculpting work began on September 6, 1990, on the tiny island adjacent to Vivekananda Rock Memorial when funds were allocated in the 1990-91 budget. Initially, the project stalled but then recommenced in 1997 and was completed on January 1, 2000. At the cost of more than US$1 million (INR 61.4 million), it employed about 150 workers, sculptors, assistants and supervisors. The slight bend around the waist made the design challenging. Dr. V. Ganapati Sthapati solved the problem by creating a full-length wooden prototype before construction. Study of this prototype led to the identification of an energy line (known in Vastu as kayamadhyasutra), currently an empty cavity in the center of the statue from top to bottom. Sthapati designed the statue to survive earthquakes of unexpected magnitude. This Statue was constructed in the DMK Government period.
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Wikipedia