Fascination with statues

What is it with us Indians and this love for statues and that too tall ones, ostensibly the “tallest in the world?” This is a behavioral pattern that we see typically with dictatorial leaders like in Russia or North Korea but in India? Or does this change in behavior actually mark the leadership we have in India now?

After the Statue of Unity, Ayodha is planning to build a Rs.2500 crore statue of Lord Rama. This statue at 25 meters will dwarf Sardar Patel’s 182-mt statue. It will also be taller than Shivaji’s statue being planned in Mumbai at 212-mts.

To be made on the banks of the Sarayu river, this statue of Ram will be part of a larger Ramayana-themed complex, which will include a museum, an auditorium, hotels, restaurants, a gurukul, and a hospital for monkeys, obviously keeping in mind hanuman’s role in Ramayana.  This also keeps intact the state’s theme of tourism – religion.

The best part of this entire exercise - the Shia Waqf Board has offered to donate 10 silver arrows to Ram’s quiver, as a gesture of religious amity.  Now if a statue can bring about true unity, tall or small, it will be worth it.