Strolling around the Indian city of Bengaluru, visitors may be surprised by the volume of statues scattered across its public spaces – particularly the sheer number devoted to the beloved Kannadiga actor and politician Rajkumar.
Ravi Kumar Kashi, an artist who has spent years documenting these works, says the statues largely emerged in the 1990s. As Bengaluru developed from the Garden City into a tech capital, dubbed India's very own Silicon Valley, it led to a “huge influx of non-Kannada speakers moving to Bengaluru from other cities across India, like Mumbai and Delhi," he says.
“This resulted in Kannada people asserting their identity with markers, like installing Kannada flag poles and putting up statues of people like Rajkumar, an actor and politician who demanded primacy for the Kannada people in government and education."
But the spate of statues in Bengaluru were not just representative of a Kannada identity, they were also an expression of caste identity, says journalist Sugata Srinivasaraju.
“Several oppressed and lower castes that till then did not claim cultural capital had slowly begun to build their own independent trajectories or think of one. They blended their caste assertion with a larger Kannada identity," she says. "However, in some cases where the Kannada identity did not figure, they staked claim to larger historical happenings.”
After receiving a grant from the India Foundation of the Arts, Kashi and two fellow RV College of Architecture faculty – Salila Vanka and Madhuri Rao – embarked on a mission to document these monuments.
The researchers divided up the areas between themselves, with photographer and artist Kashi covering the older parts of the city such as Malleswaram and Gandhi Nagar.
“When we embarked on the project we thought we would find around 200 statues, but to our surprise we found 700 across the city,” says Kashi. “There may even be 200 or 300 more that we don’t know about.” A large portion of these, around 15 per cent, were identified by members of the public through social media.
As they discovered more statues, the trio documented their locations, designs, installation dates and details on who erected them – which can now be plotted on Google Maps. The statues appear in an array of unexpected locations – with many seemingly placed at random along small lanes, narrow alleys, low income neighbourhoods and on sidewalks.
Aside from the sheer number, the use of materials was also of note to the team. “Many are made of fibreglass nowadays, as it’s most cost-effective and also durable. Some are made of cement and stone and others, like the ones around places like the Vidhana Soudha (legislative building), are made from bronze," Kashi explains.
While many statues are accompanied by a plaque bearing information on their patrons, curiously only 20 reveal the names of the artists responsible. “The artist remains relatively independent, anonymous and detached from the process unlike the statues’ many stakeholders and collaborators," Rao says.
Many of the statues were funded by fan associations of popular movie stars or leaders and community groups, though some of the larger ones were financed by corporations.
“Out of 700 statues, we found 100 of the popular Kannada film actor Rajkumar, who is a cult figure in the state. Besides being an actor, he is also part of driving Kannada as the administrative language. The second highest number of statues were of the Dalit leader, B R Ambedkar.”
Another, rather more unpleasant, finding was a severe inequality in representation, with only 13 of the 700 statues depicting women. Among these, they either tend to depict mythical figures, goddesses or prominent figures such as former prime minister Indira Gandhi and Mother Teresa.
The team also visited statue makers at their studios to get a glimpse into how they work. “Most of them use ready-to-use moulds – they may have 15 moulds for Rajkumar for example. Many people who put up these statues don’t necessarily look for originality, but more for the identity of being part of a fan club or group,” explains Kashi.
Every statue has a story to tell. Among them is a monument to Thiruvalluvar, the Tamil poet in Ulsoor, a Tamil-dominant area of the city. At the General Post Office traffic signal on Ambedkar Veedhi road, there is also a bust of a traffic policeman with a long bushy moustache called Thimmaiah, who served from 1976 to 1995. Thimmaiah was run over trying to save the life of a mother and some schoolchildren.
Another statue, by a corporation on MG Road, depicts the DNA structure, created by artist Yusuf Arakkal.
Kashi says the pedestals that the statues are installed on vary in height and design. Sometimes the works have an overhead umbrella or a mandapa constructed over them, while others are built like temples. A statue of former president and aerospace scientist A P J Abdul Kalam was created with rockets surrounding him.
The association that installed each statue is usually responsible for its upkeep, cleaning and adding garlands on special days or anniversaries.
Many of the statues are linked to caste equations or the demographics of a particular area. In places like the legislative assembly, the statues and pedestals are all the same height so that there is no perceived difference in hierarchy.
The research team also noted a trend of “appropriation of the fine art of sculptures by socio-economic and political forces”. They say there is a noted evolution in representations of particular people over time, such as the city’s founder, Nadaprabhu Kempegowda, who is depicted at several sites in the city, including the gargantuan Statue of Prosperity at the city's travel hub – Kempegowda International Airport.
“As far back as 1609, he was shown as a humble devotee, with folded hands, but nowadays he is shown as a tall, sword-wielding warrior,” says Kashi.
“Sadly the public does not appreciate creative or abstract sculptures and statues, that’s why most of the statues are of film stars and political leaders, or concrete shapes like a bull or a cow. It’s these statues that people like to take selfies with and society is not yet ready to appreciate artistic statues."
A Bad Moms Christmas
Dir: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines
Two stars
One in nine do not have enough to eat
Created in 1961, the World Food Programme is pledged to fight hunger worldwide as well as providing emergency food assistance in a crisis.
One of the organisation’s goals is the Zero Hunger Pledge, adopted by the international community in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Goals for Sustainable Development, to end world hunger by 2030.
The WFP, a branch of the United Nations, is funded by voluntary donations from governments, businesses and private donations.
Almost two thirds of its operations currently take place in conflict zones, where it is calculated that people are more than three times likely to suffer from malnutrition than in peaceful countries.
It is currently estimated that one in nine people globally do not have enough to eat.
On any one day, the WFP estimates that it has 5,000 lorries, 20 ships and 70 aircraft on the move.
Outside emergencies, the WFP provides school meals to up to 25 million children in 63 countries, while working with communities to improve nutrition. Where possible, it buys supplies from developing countries to cut down transport cost and boost local economies.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Company profile
Company name: Nestrom
Started: 2017
Co-founders: Yousef Wadi, Kanaan Manasrah and Shadi Shalabi
Based: Jordan
Sector: Technology
Initial investment: Close to $100,000
Investors: Propeller, 500 Startups, Wamda Capital, Agrimatico, Techstars and some angel investors
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
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'Nope'
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Company%20Profile
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
The Details
Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Brief scores:
Juventus 3
Dybala 6', Bonucci 17', Ronaldo 63'
Frosinone 0
TUESDAY'S ORDER OF PLAY
Centre Court
Starting at 2pm:
Elina Svitolina (UKR) [3] v Jennifer Brady (USA)
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) v Belinda Bencic (SUI [4]
Not before 7pm:
Sofia Kenin (USA) [5] v Elena Rybakina (KAZ)
Maria Sakkari (GRE) v Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) [7]
Court One
Starting at midday:
Karolina Muchova (CZE) v Katerina Siniakova (CZE)
Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) v Aliaksandra Sasnovich (BLR)
Veronika Kudermetova (RUS) v Dayana Yastermska (UKR)
Petra Martic (CRO) [8] v Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE)
Sorana Cirstea (ROU) v Anett Kontaveit (EST)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company%20Profile
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Brief scoreline:
Toss: South Africa, elected to bowl first
England (311-8): Stokes 89, Morgan 57, Roy 54, Root 51; Ngidi 3-66
South Africa (207): De Kock 68, Van der Dussen 50; Archer 3-27, Stokes 2-12
Who are the Sacklers?
The Sackler family is a transatlantic dynasty that owns Purdue Pharma, which manufactures and markets OxyContin, one of the drugs at the centre of America's opioids crisis. The family is well known for their generous philanthropy towards the world's top cultural institutions, including Guggenheim Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, Tate in Britain, Yale University and the Serpentine Gallery, to name a few. Two branches of the family control Purdue Pharma.
Isaac Sackler and Sophie Greenberg were Jewish immigrants who arrived in New York before the First World War. They had three sons. The first, Arthur, died before OxyContin was invented. The second, Mortimer, who died aged 93 in 2010, was a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma. The third, Raymond, died aged 97 in 2017 and was also a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma.
It was Arthur, a psychiatrist and pharmaceutical marketeer, who started the family business dynasty. He and his brothers bought a small company called Purdue Frederick; among their first products were laxatives and prescription earwax remover.
Arthur's branch of the family has not been involved in Purdue for many years and his daughter, Elizabeth, has spoken out against it, saying the company's role in America's drugs crisis is "morally abhorrent".
The lawsuits that were brought by the attorneys general of New York and Massachussetts named eight Sacklers. This includes Kathe, Mortimer, Richard, Jonathan and Ilene Sackler Lefcourt, who are all the children of either Mortimer or Raymond. Then there's Theresa Sackler, who is Mortimer senior's widow; Beverly, Raymond's widow; and David Sackler, Raymond's grandson.
Members of the Sackler family are rarely seen in public.
Poacher
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