Sunday, March 7, 2010

Lonesome George

Under the pretext of easing traffic flow around the new Assembly complex being constructed on Mount Road, the magnificent statue of King Edward VII which was there has been carted away. Even more mindlessly, and shamefully, the statue of King George V near the War Memorial was also hacked off - both father and son are now covered in sackcloth and dumped somewhere on the grounds of the Government Museum. Sad.

The argument that the statues were reminders of the dark period of imperialism may have been valid at some time, but both Eddie and George had become part of the city's landscape over the years. If nothing else, the statues were much easier on the eye than several others that had come up at various street corners.

Now, the only statue of King George V that remains is the one on NSC Bose Road. Presumably, it has been left standing because it was put up by public demand and sponsored by Govindadoss Chatoorbhoojadoss, who was Sheriff of Madras in 1914 when this statue was unveiled. Today it stands alone - but keeping a watchful eye on all the vehicles around!




3 comments:

Jefferis Evans D'Angelis said...

YOU MOST FOLLOW AHEAD WHIT THE TRADITIONS, TAKE CARE OF THE STATUES PLEASE!!!!

KARTHIK A.BHATT said...

George stands there in an unenviable position, considering the fact that his immediate surroundings are being used as a public toilet in the mornings.

Shantaram said...

@ Jefferis: I hope so!
@ Karthik: :( Serving the people, in a way....