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He alleges that additions near his sculptures at Shanghumughom, Veli, and Payyambalam and the new landscaping has marred the view and destroyed the character of the places
He alleges that additions near his sculptures at Shanghumughom, Veli, and Payyambalam and the new landscaping has marred the view and destroyed the character of the places
Sculptor Kanayi Kunhiraman, who was on Monday chosen for the first Kerala Sree award instituted by the State government, has declined the award in protest against the way the government has been treating his sculptures at Shanghumughom, Veli, and Payyambalam. Early in 2021, Mr. Kunhiraman had marked his protest against the installation of a decommissioned Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter close to the ‘Sagarakanyaka’, a sculpture of a reclining mermaid by him on the Shanghumughom beach in Thiruvananthapuram.
The sculptor had then maintained that he would settle for nothing short of full restoration of the ambience around ‘Sagarakanyaka’. However, the Tourism department had stuck to its stand. Mr. Kunhiraman cited the instance as well as the construction of a new tower for a ropeway near the ‘Mother and Child’ sculpture at Payyambalam beach in Kannur and the changes made near his sculptures at Veli in Thiruvananthapuram, for his decision to decline the award.
‘Tourist attractions’
“I came back to Kerala in 1968 after my studies and travels around to world to develop a culture of public art here. Since then, it has been a lot of hard work to create each of these sculptures in our public spaces. Shanghumughom and Veli, which had remained neglected for long, witnessed a turnaround and became major tourist attractions after these sculptures were placed there. It also benefited the local population in these places. I did not do any of this for money,” Mr. Kunhiraman told The Hindu.
The Mermaid at Shanghumukhom with the decommissioned IAF Helicopter behind it
He said that the new additions near these sculptures as well as the new landscaping had marred the view and destroyed the character of the places. He singled out former Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran, under whose tenure the changes were made, for criticism.
‘Sole request to govt.’
“Successive governments in Kerala have ignored our art and culture while coming up with projects. I was shocked to see the kind of changes that were made at Shanghumughom. In Payyambalam, they agreed to remove the tower from near the structure after protests. I don’t need any awards. My only request to the government is to restore the area around the sculptures to the previous state,” said Mr. Kunhiraman.
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