New Delhi: The head of KIIT School of Sculpture, Adwaita Charan Granayak has lionized the entire nation by carving the names of 34,884 martyrs of Indian police and paramilitary forces. The 30-foot tall structure dedicated to those who laid down their lives in the line of duty stands in Delhi’s Chanakyapuri. This National Police Memorial has been designed and conceptualized by one of India’s prominent sculptors, Adwaita Charan Garanayak, who is also the Director-General of National Gallery of Modern Art.
Coming from a small village in Odisha, Mr. Garanayak grew up in the lap of nature and says that for him nature is the best inspiration.
“When we look at the sky, mountains, ocean, we feel so vast… and if one sees the tall structure of the memorial, one would be able to feel its vastness. While looking up to it, our heads will automatically bow down to it in respect”, he said, talking about the structure’s concept.
A “soul rising from the human body” is depicted in the front of the memorial. Drops of nectar falling from the sky in the back and a 60-foot long river at the base have been depicted. And most strikingly, names of over 30,000 persons from almost 65 organizations who were killed in action after the 1962 China war have been engraved on a “Wall of Valour”.
The names include martyrs from police forces, CRPF, CISF, and BSF, as they did not want to “categorize a martyr”.
Nivedita Misra, Garanayak’s wife, who was also a part of making the memorial, said, “We completed a task meant for two years in under three months. It was quite a challenge. The carving was done on the spot in a continuous process”.
The memorial was opened on October 21 by the Prime Minister.
Ms Kalinga