The Statue Park at Kottayam – A Tribute to the Land of Letters!
It’s a little surprising to know that many residents of Kottayam district themselves are not aware of the Statue Park in Kottayam town, leave alone others! Opened to the public by the then Chief Minister Shri Oommen Chandy on 01 June 2015, the park sees not many local visitors.
Attached to the District Public Library, it is the first statue park of Kerala. There are two main statues in the park – the “Akshara Silpam” and the “Vanarodhanam“, besides a few other art forms like “Suryavattom“, “Kolezhuthu“, “Vattezhuthu” and “Aksharamuttam“.
Most of the art forms relate directly to the well-known attribute of Kottayam – its Literacy, its “Land of Letters” honor, the “Akshara Nagari” name.
The statues and other art forms were created by the ace sculptor Kanayi Kunhiraman. The basic concept is “Vidhyarambham” (initiation to Education), which is a unique celebration of Kerala where kids are formally introduced to Education by prominent scholarly personalities.
The main attraction of the Statue Park is the 35-feet tall “Akshara Silpam“, which is the depiction of a mother initiating her kid to “Vidya” (Education), keenly observed by another kid, and with a third kid immersed in a book.
“A child should get his/her first lessons through the mother so that the term mother tongue is rendered meaningful. She is the mother, teacher and the Devi for the child”, the sculptor Mr. Kanayi Kunhiraman says.
The ‘Akshara Muttom’ has been designed as a platform for organizing the ‘Vidhyarambham’ function.
The “Vanarodhanam” work, made of Steel, reflects environmental issues like deforestation.
“Sooryavattom“, made of stainless steel, is a contemporary work of art. The park has also another art section that focuses on the evolution of Malayalam script.
The Statue Park is open to public every day from 5 AM to 10 PM. There is no entry fee.
If you have not visited the Statue Park yet, do plan to go there with your kids. The entry is from Shasthri Road, between Baker Junction and Darshana Cultural Academy.
