26,000 man hours went into making Netaji’s statue which will be unveiled by PM Modi

New Delhi, Sep 08: A grand statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, will be unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi today near India Gate in New Delhi. The jet black granite statue, measuring a total of 28 ft. will be placed under the Canopy near India Gate.

The grand statue of Netaji being unveiled has been carved from a monolithic block of granite weighing 280 MT. After 26,000 man hours of intense artistic endeavor, the granite monolith was chiseled to produce a statue weighing 65 MT. The statue is completely hand sculpted using traditional techniques and modern tools. The team of sculptors for executing the statue was led by Shri. Arun Yogiraj.

The statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, which will be unveiled by the Prime Minister, is being installed in the same place where a hologram statue of Netaji was unveiled earlier this year on Parakram Diwas (January 23) by him to mark the 125th birth anniversary of Netaji.

The 28 feet tall towering statue of Netaji is one of the tallest, realistic, monolithic, handmade sculptures in India. The PM had on 21st January 2022 assured that a grand statue of Netaji made of granite will be installed at India Gate as a symbol of the nation's indebtedness to him.

A 100 feet long truck with 140 wheels was specially designed for this monolithic granite stone to travel the 1665 kms from Khammam in Telangana to New Delhi.

The Prime Minister's arrival at the canopy for the unveiling of the statue of Netaji will be heralded with traditional Manipuri Shankh Vadayam and Kerala's traditional Panch Vadayam and Chanda. The unveiling of the statue of Netaji would be accompanied to the tune of Kadam Kadam Badhaye jaa, the traditional INA song.

To demonstrate the spirit of Ek Bharat - Shrestra Bharat & Unity in Diversity a cultural festival by 500 dancers drawn from all parts of the country, would be showcased on the Kartvya Path. The glimpse of the same would be shown to the Prime Minster on the step Amphitheatre near India Gate by around 30 artists who will perform tribal folk art forms such as Sambalpuri, Panthi, Kalbelia, Kargam and dummy horse with live music by Nashik Dhol Pathik Tasha and Drums. Mangalgaan penned by Padma Bhushan Pt. Shrikrishna Ratanjankarji on the auspicious occasion of 1st Independence Day of India in 1947 is being presented by Pt. SuhasVashi along with a team of singers and musicians. Shri. Ashish Keskar will be the music director for the presentation.

The festival at Kartvya path would commence at 08.45 PM on 8th September, 2022 after the main function and will also continue on 9th, 10, & 11th September, 2022 from 7.00 PM to 9.00 PM.

A special 10 minute Drone Show on Netaji's life would be projected at India Gate at 08.00 PM on 9th, 10th and 11th September, 2022. Both the cultural festival and the drone show would be open to public with free entry a release by the Ministry of Culture said.