Work on Independence Golden Jubilee Monument complete

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, MARCH 13. The Government Secretariat at the State capital is getting a new look with the `Independence Golden Jubilee Monument', right in front of the main block, having been just completed.

In all probability, it will be formally inaugurated later this month, said artist K. P.Soman who has translated the idea of such a monument into a reality.

"My job is just over. I have handed over the site, back to the authorities. Now it is for them to decide on the future course of action," he told The Hindu here today.

Just a stone's throw away from the Statue Junction on the M.G.Road, the main arterial road in the city and within the Secretariat premises, lies a totally different world, seemingly an excavated archaeological site reminiscent of Mohanjedaro and Harappa or Mesopotamia.

Artist Soman, with a rich and varied experience of similar works in different parts of the country, undertook this mammoth work in January 2000, at the invitation of the State Government. Initially, the entire site appeared to be shrouded in mystery, with the passersby wondering what exactly was going on behind the curtains.

There were rumours of all kinds doing the rounds. "But nobody bothered even to peep in. I was here throughout and nobody took the trouble to just ask me what was on," Soman grieves.

The monument visualises the history of human race in general and the Indians in particular. Sculpturally and architecturally articulated space shows the motifs of the evolution of culture and history.

The site spreads out indicators of human evolution from the Stone Age, the Indus Valley and the Mesopotamian civilizations to the present times. Each epoch is a struggle for freedom of some kind or the other. Independence struggle of India also is a part of this vast discovery of human endeavour.

This `site sculpture' has multi-levels and various dimensions of communication.

There is an artificial mount about six-feet high. This signifies, by virtue of its form, the Ziggurat, the man-made mount, and the architectural remains of the Mesopotamian culture.

Stepping on the mount, one can reach the next level or dimension that shows the signs of excavated sites. One can physically step into history by entering the simulated archaeology of India. Artefacts of culture emerge from different levels and angles.

Sculptures of small size, hundreds in number, varying from terracotta and wood to metal and ceramics, convey different expressions of human life and emotions.

Some are sad, some angry, pathetic, humourous, some active and some passive. They are fossils of human thoughts and feelings. Each sculptural form and graffiti gives the freedom to the beholder to read history in his or her own way. Forms can be seen individually and also collectively.

Moving down the simulated archaeological steps, one reaches the semi-dark chamber beneath the mount. The primordial element, water and one of the oldest means of transportation, the country boat, are arranged inside the chamber as parts of vestiges of culture and history.

And along with them, one of the oldest machines to reduce labour to attain maximum mechanical advantage to cultivate land -- the manually operated water wheel has also been placed.

A small portion of the ceiling of the mount has been made transparent from the inside chamber, through which can be viewed the clock tower of the Secretariat as also the fluttering national flag on the top of it against the backdrop of the blue sky.

The semi-dark chamber whispers the recorded human voices of contemporary life. People from different walks of life have contributed to it. The `voice sculpture' is a repertory of history. It remains evergrowing with scope for further addition. This site sculpture has an open-ended human participation, in voice, form, space and time.

This participatory site sculpture merges well with the environs and the architecture of the Secretariat building.

Mr. Vijayakumar Menon, art historian, has made his contributions at the finishing stages of the monument built at a cost of nearly Rs. 30 lakhs, artist Soman says.

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