Alappuzha Mermaid (Matsyakanyaka) Statue Translocation And Brewing Controversy
Alappuzha, Kerala: A controversy is brewing in Alappuzha city centre surrounding a Mermaid (Matsyakanyaka) sculpture, which was constructed in the 1990s on the initiative of then district collector. A specimen of urban art located on the north canal, Kidangamparamp, Thathampally, the Matsyakanyaka was sculpted by Dr Vijayakumar G Kumarapuram.
At present, the statue is supposed to be taken away as part of a development project as the bridge at the district court junction is expanding. As the construction is progressing, removal of the sculpture is the plan. Notably, given its cultural significance and one of Alappuza’s long-cherished icons, it was proposed that the monument could be relocated safely.
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Measures were taken to relocate the iconic statue ahead of the renovation works in the area, and an understanding was reached that it could be relocated to the beach safely. However, none was confident that the mermaid sculpture could be translocated without any damage. Several tenders were invited and contracts were given, only to prove futile.
It is reported that the sculpture was built above solid concrete, making it hard to remove without ruptures. Experts have reportedly suggested that the sculpture could not be removed safely, even as two parts. Alappuzha MLA PP Chitharanjan recently opined that the relocation of the is technically difficult, adding that the mermaid statue can be abandoned for a bigger development project.
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Controversy Surrounding Statue Relocation ‘Difficult’ Claims
Speaking to Timeline, a contractor, with the condition of anonymity, claimed that the collaborative hand of the sculptor is paramount, especially if he is alive.
Though the district administration and the tourism department made several moves for the translocation of the status, Mermaid’s sculptor, Dr Vijayakumar was not consulted so far, whose insights are crucial for the shifting requirements. However, none approach ed him for the know-how of the translocation.
When the concerns about shifting the sculpture were directed to a labour co-operative body, the officials at the organisation tracked the sculpture, Vijayakumzr, and designed proposals with the best practical shifting idea.
The sculptor says the task was later given to a different contractor. According to a source, the new contractor does not have a sense of the “sanctity of a sculpture” as an element of urban design, and that they were only with the task to pluck the sculpture.
Timeline contacted the mermaid sculptor, Dr Vijayakumar G Kumarapuram, who, after coming to know that the sculpture was to be removed, recently visited the area. Vijayakumar laments that the officials have already removed four lamp ladies and 208 shanks, and his name board from the statue, which he does not know where they are now.
“At least they should have asked me when doing such things, given that I am the sculptor. Now, they are going to demolish it. I am alive, Just think about my situation,” Vijayakumar said, urging media and people to resist the authorities’ move to destroy the sculpture.
According to Vijayakumar, right from he began to build the structure in 1996, several people had developed grudge towards him. “Some even gave quotation to goons who has beat me to stop my work,” the sculptor remembers. He then recalls that then-secretary of the Alappuzha Development Authority (ADA), the body responsible for the planning, development, and management of the district projects, asked him not to inscribe his name as sculptor.
Vijayakumar recalls those days of sculpting the mermaid 29 years ago. He says that the secretary asked to credit the craft to secretary’s name. As the sculptor opposed the proposal, the secretary gave him a stop memo, to cease the work while approaching other sculptors to proceed with the project. He says some media also stood with the secretary, making false campaigns against him.
However, in the midst of this, the District Collector called the sculptor to inquire about the stop memo, Vijayakumar explained everything to him. The collector then agreed to proceed with him while directing the ADA secretary not to interrupt the sculptor.
The sculptor further says that, despite completing the work, his name board was placed in a way that the visitor could not read or notice it. “Since day one, there has been a grudge against me, a situation existed that there is a reputed sculptor here. “No other creator should emerge,” Vijayakumar alleged.
