History buffs in the city, who have hitherto stuck to the vicinity of East Fort region, may soon flock to north-eastern Vattiyoorkavu for a taste of modern history. After around two years since it was first announced, work on the much-touted ‘Freedom Memorial’, it is learnt, is finally set to begin.
The memorial, mentioned in the budget speech of 2012-13 to depict the ‘’glorious moments of India’s historical struggle for freedom’’, is slated to come up on 30 cents of land on the village office compound near Vattiyoorkavu Central Polytechnic. It is said to be the spot near which the State Congress was first convened and which launched the freedom movement in Travancore.
The final sanction having been received around two weeks ago, work on constructing the memorial will begin this week, said State Archives Department director J Rejikumar.
“A technical monitoring committee has been constituted comprising representatives institutions like Lalithakala Akademi and Gandhi Smarak Nidhi, apart from historians, academics, architects and engineers,” Rejikumar said.
“Based on their recommendations, a design for the memorial has been prepared by Thomas John Kovoor, a Jaipur-based Malayali artist.”
The proposed freedom memorial, estimated to cost around Rs 1.75 crore, is very much an artist’s rendition of a historical event. At the centre is the main monument - a mountain-shaped, triple-layered structure of bricks “to represent the three Malayalam speaking regions of Travancore, Kochi and Malabar” which unite to form Kerala.
The mountain shape, according to the project’s concept note, expresses the “rock solid unity of Keralites in their struggle for freedom” while each brick depicts “leaders and ordinary people of Kerala who fought for their freedom”. Landmark events will be shown as drawings at the base of the monument. There will also be four bronze sculptures at the four corners of the main monument to “metaphorically represent the moral and ethical values associated with the freedom struggle” - non-violence, patriotism, freedom and resistance to foreign rule.
“There will also be murals on the boundary walls depicting important events like Temple Entry Proclamation and Wagon Tragedy,” said S Raimon, executive director of Kerala Museum of History and Heritage, which is implementing the project. “Except for Gandhiji, no other person can be identified because the memorial is dedicated to an event and not a few specific persons.”
Plans are also afoot to set up a garden with benches for people to sit, Rejikumar said.
“Since we also hope this will be a centre of learning, computer kiosks with interactive touchscreens will be set up to provide more information about events in the freedom struggle,” he said.
The work should be completed in around six months’ time, Rejikumar added.
Freedom Museum
Meanwhile, the promised museum which was announced along with the memorial to depict the role of freedom fighters from Kerala remains on paper for want of space. The search is on for land in Thiruvananthapuram for setting up the museum but no further directives have been given, officials said.