MADURAI: A six-feet statue of Mahakavi Bharathiyar will be installed at the Madurai Kamaraj University by the Tamil department. Retired IAS officer G Balachandar, who was an alumnus of the college, will be donating the statue. Speaking to TNIE, MKU Vice Chancellor J Kumar said it was department professor Sathiyamoorthy's wish to install statues of eminent Tamil scholars in the varsity.
"With the permission of MKU syndicate, works have been completed and the statue will mostly be installed next month. Bharathiyar's service to the nation during the freedom movement for women, social integration and development of Tamil language were remarkable. The statue will inspire the youngsters," said Kumar.
G Balachandar told TNIE that the Bharathiyar statue will be made of bronze and a peedam will be installed at the height of five feets. "This statue is slightly different from others. On one hand, Bharathiyar will carry a book and on the other he will hold a stick. His powerful eyes will indirectly represent the values of life. A fire of revolution can be seen in his eyes and his courageous face embodies fearlessness without shame. A professor from the government fine arts college will be making the statue," he said, adding that he studied in MKU's English department in the 1972-74 batch.
Speaking to TNIE, Department of Tamilogy Assistant Professor V Sathiyamoorthy said he had installed a statue of Thiruvalluvar earlier. "In view of the 100th death anniversary of Bharathiyar, I wanted to install his statue in the varsity. The project was delayed due to the Covid pandemic. MKU takes pride in installing the statue next to Bharathiyar University as he believed not only in equality," he added.