"Jai Maharashtra!!!"
This is what we said when we reached Guadalupe River Park, San jose.
After accidentally coming to know from a flickr photo, we especially went there to see this rare statue.
We took few minutes to actually search for it, as it's located in very corner of the garden and pretty small in size. Still, we were happy to see our own maratha leader.
...all the individuals behind the goodwill gesture which will see the installation of a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj astride his horse in the city of San Jose, in the United States of America.
This gesture comes in the wake of the administrative bodies of Pune and San Jose declaring the two cities to be `sister cities.' During her visit to San Jose last year, Pune Mayor (1998) Vandana Chavan was told by her counterpart that a plot of land (measuring 20 by 20 feet) had been earmarked near the town hall for some memento from Pune. San Jose, incidentally, has such patches of land reserved for the various cities that it shares such a relationship with.
Consequently, the Pune Municipal Corporation and all those concerned with the sister-city proposal decided that a statue of the Maratha warrior should be installed there, coinciding with the 370th anniversary celebrations of Chhatrapati Shivaji. The statue will be sent to San Jose by air cargo, and is to be installed there at a colourful ceremony sometime next month.
This work of art, which cost an approximate Rs 1 lakh, is the creation of well-known sculptor B R Khedkar. Keeping in mind the transportation to the USA, the height of the statue is about three and a quarter feet. Over three months of careful work - preparing a mould, casting it, chipping to give shape to the finer details - and the statue in bronze is now ready.
Says the artist, ``Over the past five decades, my fingers have moulded many sculptures that dot the cityscape, including many statues of Shivaji - the largest being at Kolhapur and standing about 18 and a half feet tall. But I am proud of this particular creation (albeit its small size) as it shall represent our city and its ethos in some place in another country. The people there shall have a glimpse of what this man means to us Puneites.''
The pride at being chosen for the task is evident in his voice as he tells of the visits of the various PMC officials to his house to see the progress. ``Even the commissioner had a look at the model I had prepared with mud and clay, and on receiving his approval, it was cast in bronze.'' Now ready, it just has to be sent to the place it has been intended for. Truly, Chhatrapati Shivaji is riding high... across the seven seas from the city of the Peshwas to the land of Uncle Sam.
courtesy : www.indianexpress.com
Related Interesting photo
Related News:
http://www.sjeconomy.com/sistercities/pune.asp
http://www.sanjosepunesistercity.org/pressclip.html
http://www.sanjosepunesistercity.org/pastprj.html
AJ..!!
This is what we said when we reached Guadalupe River Park, San jose.
After accidentally coming to know from a flickr photo, we especially went there to see this rare statue.
We took few minutes to actually search for it, as it's located in very corner of the garden and pretty small in size. Still, we were happy to see our own maratha leader.
...all the individuals behind the goodwill gesture which will see the installation of a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj astride his horse in the city of San Jose, in the United States of America.
This gesture comes in the wake of the administrative bodies of Pune and San Jose declaring the two cities to be `sister cities.' During her visit to San Jose last year, Pune Mayor (1998) Vandana Chavan was told by her counterpart that a plot of land (measuring 20 by 20 feet) had been earmarked near the town hall for some memento from Pune. San Jose, incidentally, has such patches of land reserved for the various cities that it shares such a relationship with.
Consequently, the Pune Municipal Corporation and all those concerned with the sister-city proposal decided that a statue of the Maratha warrior should be installed there, coinciding with the 370th anniversary celebrations of Chhatrapati Shivaji. The statue will be sent to San Jose by air cargo, and is to be installed there at a colourful ceremony sometime next month.
This work of art, which cost an approximate Rs 1 lakh, is the creation of well-known sculptor B R Khedkar. Keeping in mind the transportation to the USA, the height of the statue is about three and a quarter feet. Over three months of careful work - preparing a mould, casting it, chipping to give shape to the finer details - and the statue in bronze is now ready.
Says the artist, ``Over the past five decades, my fingers have moulded many sculptures that dot the cityscape, including many statues of Shivaji - the largest being at Kolhapur and standing about 18 and a half feet tall. But I am proud of this particular creation (albeit its small size) as it shall represent our city and its ethos in some place in another country. The people there shall have a glimpse of what this man means to us Puneites.''
The pride at being chosen for the task is evident in his voice as he tells of the visits of the various PMC officials to his house to see the progress. ``Even the commissioner had a look at the model I had prepared with mud and clay, and on receiving his approval, it was cast in bronze.'' Now ready, it just has to be sent to the place it has been intended for. Truly, Chhatrapati Shivaji is riding high... across the seven seas from the city of the Peshwas to the land of Uncle Sam.
courtesy : www.indianexpress.com
Related Interesting photo
Related News:
http://www.sjeconomy.com/sistercities/pune.asp
http://www.sanjosepunesistercity.org/pressclip.html
http://www.sanjosepunesistercity.org/pastprj.html
AJ..!!
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