Sculptor was given the artistic liberty, he says
SHILLONG, Feb 18: Arts and Culture Minister Paul Lyngdoh has come clean after reticence brewed over the inauguration of a bust and not a life-size statue of U Tirot Sing Syiem in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Lyngdoh said that it was left to the artistic liberty of the sculptor, Raphael Warjri, to design this commemorative statue.
He then went on to call it a proud moment for the Khasi community.
The commemorative statue of U Tirot Sing Syiem now is not restricted only to Shillong or Mairang, and this positive development will now make him a global hero, Lyngdoh added.
“This historic moment will be remembered for generations to come,” he said.
He recalled that after he assumed charge as the minister, he had come across the effort made by former Arts and Culture Minister Sanbor Shullai for this commemorative statue in Dhaka.
“Things could not move due to the COVID-19 pandemic and due to the transfer of the officials in the department. We again formally communicated with India High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Pranay Verma, to follow up on this proposal for this commemorative statue at the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre (IGCC),” Lyngdoh said.
He said that it is with the support of the Indian High Commission and Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) that they have finally been able to unveil the commemorative statue.
The department will make necessary arrangement to provide with the copy of the books on the life of Tirot Sing written by different authors at the IGCC library which has been given the name of ‘U Tirot Sing Library’.
Earlier on Saturday, former Arts and Culture Minister, Sanbor Shullai had recalled that the original proposal was to erect a life-size statue of the Khasi freedom fighter in Dhaka.
He, however, was grateful that the proposal which he had initiated had fructified. “We should be happy since it is a great happiest moment for the people of the state,” he had said.
