KCP Infra Limited, as part of the Smart City Project in Coimbatore, is set to unveil a unique statue of Thiruvalluvar, a celebrated Tamil poet and philosopher. The Thiruvalluvar statue is being installed on the Kurichi lakebed and is expected to become a unique landmark not just for Coimbatore but for India.
The statue is 15 feet wide, 25 feet high, 20 feet long and weighs 2.50 tonnes. What makes it unique is that it is entirely made of steel and designed with Tamil characters (alphabets), with a total of 1,330 Tamil characters in honor of 1,330 Thirukkural written by Thiruvalluvar.
Each of the Tamil letters, made of quality steel, has been interlaced and interlocked in different shapes to reflect the sun’s rays on the idol. Infrastructure engineers from various parts of India, with statue-making expertise, were tasked to design and execute the project.
The statue has been designed with four secret words, which need to be searched and found, said K. Chandra Prakash, Managing Director of KCP Infra Ltd. This is the first time in Tamil history that Thiruvalluvar sculpture has been erected with Tamil characters. This statue, made of Tamil letters, is expected to be a unique landmark not only for Coimbatore but for India.
There are several statues of Thiruvalluvar worldwide, but this is the first time that Tamil letters have been used to showcase the legacy of not only the language but also the great poet. The statue project is a one-of-a-kind project in India and cost roughly Rs 52 crores.
