KOCHI:Arguably it all began with the statue of T Madhava Rao, one of the oldest statues in the capital city. Standing tall in front of the Government Secretariat, it's a mute spectator to the city's transformation for over 150 years.
Today the state capital hosts more than 40 statues, including that of freedom fighters, Travancore rulers, political leaders and other prominent figures, in and around the city. With ever-growing number of statues, Thiruvananthapuram has become the 'City of Statues'.
With yet another statue all set to enter the cityscape, Express takes a look at the state of the capitals' statues.
Many statues, once unveiled with much pomp and celebration, are now in a deteriorated state due to lack of attention. Every nook and corner of the city now houses at least a couple of statues. At Vellayambalam, there are statues of Akkamma Cherian and Ayyankali. Once you go further, there are two more - that of Vayalar Ramaverma and G Devarajan - at Manaveeyam Road.
The Assembly complex has the statue of B R Ambedkar statue of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose is adjacent at PMG Junction. There are many more - Rajiv Gandhi at Chenkanchulla Junction and T M Varghese at Kesavadasapuram.
When statues are erected, the concept is to pay tribute to these prominent personalities. But rarely do the authorities take follow up measures to protect these monuments.
"I have been living in Vellayambalam for three years now. I'm happy that the statue of Akkamma Cherian, one of the greatest freedom fighters from Travancore, is now in a good state. Initially it was a different story. The entire place was a mess. Things have changed now. There's a small park where many people come and spend time, thanks to people's initiatives. Now it's a well maintained place," points out Suresh Kumar, a resident of Vellayambalam.
Sadly, the story is different for many other statues. Look at the statue of Hippocrates at Medical College Junction. The place has become a common place for people to spit. The statue is in a bad condition with its colour faded out.
"Now it's in a bad condition. But it's learnt that the statue would be renovated along with the construction of new casualty coming up next to the statue," says Ravindran Nair, security guard with the Government Dental college.
Do we need another statue?
City residents have different opinions about increasing number of statues. For some people, statues are a significant source of inspiration. They feel a statue gives a facelift to an area. But many others feel, with lack of proper maintenance it's an insult to the great personalities.
"I like these statues take up back to history. Most of us read about famous people in history text books but forget about them later. But these statues literally become part of our lives. We come across them during our daily commuting, as such they remind us about their historical significance," feels Gowri Gopan, post graduate student and resident of Vattiyoorkavu.
Meanwhile, some auto taxi drivers in Manveeyam Veedhi have a different take on the issue. "We are not against statues coming up in the city. But we would like to seem them well maintained. The condition of many of these statues are not good. Also we should ensure that statues coming up in a region has some relevance to that place," says Sreekariyam Jayan.
He goes on to add that the statue of P Bhaskaran should have come up in Thrissur. "The cultural capital of Kerala should have the statue of P Bhaskaran who had immensely contributed to art and culture," he adds.
Undoubtedly there should be attempts to protect these historical monuments which are testimonials of Kerala's great legacy.