Virbhadra’s statue to be unveiled on Monday
The statue of Congress Stalwart, referred to as “Raja Saab”, a scion of the Rampur-Bushahr royal family, Virbhadra Singh -- who was the longest serving CM of the state, will be unveiled in presence of Member of Parliament and former chairperson of UPA, Sonia Gandhi, and national general secretary, AICC, Priyanaka Gandhi Vadra.
Finally, after nearly 4 years of his death, a 6-feet tall bronze statue of late Virbhadra Singh, who remained the CM for six times — made by renowned sculptor Ram V Sutar and his son Anil V Sutar– will be unveiled on The Ridge in Shimla on October 13.
The statue of Congress Stalwart, referred to as “Raja Saab”, a scion of the Rampur-Bushahr royal family, Virbhadra Singh -- who was the longest serving CM of the state, will be unveiled in presence of Member of Parliament and former chairperson of UPA, Sonia Gandhi, and national general secretary, AICC, Priyanaka Gandhi Vadra. Singh died on July 8, 2021 after prolonged illness.
The creators of the Statue of Unity — which is currently the tallest statue in the world at 182 metres– have made the bronze statue of Congress stalwart. The statue has been made by Ram Sutar Fine Arts Private Limited and Ram Sutar Art Creations Private Limited company headed by director sculptor Dr Ram V Sutar (100) and company’s vice-president Dr Anil Ram Sutar (72). “It took us 6 months to create this bronze statue,” said Anil, son of Ram V Sutar, while talking to HT.
The statue has come with a cost of about ₹40 lakh — that includes ₹24 lakh cost of the statue and ₹16 lakh cost of installation on The Ridge. Initially, the Raja Virbhadra Singh Foundation was to bear all expenses of making of the statue and its maintenance. But now the state government shall bear the expense of installation and upkeep of Virbhadra’s statue.
Sutar was born in a poor family on February 19, 1925, in Gondur village in Maharashtra. After completing his basic education, he married Pramila in 1952 and the couple has one son Anil, who also is a sculptor. Between 1954 and 1958, Sutar worked as a modeler for the Department of Archaeology in Aurangabad. He was involved in restoring several ancient sculptures found in Ajanta and Ellora caves. Later, he joined the I&B Ministry in Delhi as a technical assistant (model).
It was in 1959, he quit his government job to become a full-time professional sculptor. Since then, he has designed many statues.
The well-known work of Sutar includes the statue of Mahatma Gandhi inside Parliament complex.
Other well-known sculptures of Sutar include the 21-feet high Equestrian statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Amritsar, and 10-feet high bronze statue of Govind Ballabh Pant overlooking Rafi Marg in Delhi.
PWD minister and Virbhadra Singh’s son, Vikramaditya Singh, said, “The statue installed next to the statue of the creator of Himachal, Dr Yashwant Singh Parmar in Daulat Singh Park, will be unveiled on Monday in presence of senior Congress leaders as a befitting tribute to the creator of modern Himachal.”
A moment of pride: Pratibha
The president of Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) and wife of former CM Virbhadra Singh, said it is a moment of pride for her that the statue will be unveiled on October 13. She said the event would be attended by top Congress leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Rajani Patil, and several other senior party figures.
“The unveiling of Virbhadra Singh ji’s statue was originally scheduled for June, but it had to be postponed due to the natural disaster that struck our state. Heavy rains and floods forced us to defer the event. Finally, it will now take place on October 13,” Pratibha said.
