On 23rd January, India celebrated the 125th birth anniversary of Subhash Chandra Bose, fondly remembered as Netaji across the country for his valiant leadership and decisive impact in obtaining independence from colonial rule. In a bid to pay homage to him, the NDA government has decided to install a permanent statue dedicated to Bose as a reminder of his heroics for generations to come. And the man tasked with the work of sculpting is Adwaita Gadanayak, an Odisha-based artist and sculptor.
Gadanayak is also famous for creating the Dandi March sculpture installed at Rajghat in New Delhi. The statue will be placed under the canopy of the India Gate and will replace the Amar Jawan Jyoti (eternal flame), which was recently merged with the flame burning at the National War Memorial. The statue, proposed to be twenty-eight feet high, will be carved in jet black granite.
Until the statue is ready, the government has arranged for a holographic representation of the structure through specially imported projectors.
“I am delighted that the Prime Minister has assigned this task to me. It seems like after so many years Netaji will get the long-awaited and rightful honour he deserves. I am so proud that I belong to Odisha, where Netaji was born and spent his childhood,” Gadanayak said. “We will bring the granite stone block from Khammam district in Telangana. It is the same spot from where the stone for the National Police Memorial was brought,” he added.
Born and brought up in Neulopoi village of Odisha’s Dhenkanal district, Gadanayak pursued art education from BK College of Arts and Crafts in Bhubaneswar and completed his master’s degree from College of Art in New Delhi. He is presently the Director of the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi.