Off the coast of India’s southern most tip, Kanyakumari, in quiet dignity stands the 133-foot tall stone sculpture of renowned poet, scholar and philosopher Thiruvalluvar, popularly known as Valluvar. He holds a special place in India’s cultural and literary landscape as the author the Thirukkural, a piece of classic Tamil sangam literature consisting of approximately 1330 couplets or Kurals.
These are couplets in which Thiruvalluvar poetically expounds on everyday virtues, secular ethics, politics, economics, love and morality. Considered one of the greatest works of Tamil literature, Thiruvalluvar’s words and teachings have been studied and cited around the world, celebrated for its universality that has consistently found relevance and importance through the years.
The Thiruvalluvar Statue was sculpted by renowned architect and sculptor V Ganapati Sthapati who is said to have engaged five hundred sculptors in the construction process. The statue was inaugurated at the turn of the century on January 1, 2000 by the then-Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Dr M Karunanidhi. The height of the statue, 133 feet, is said to symbolise the 133 chapters of Thirukkural.
The statue sits adjacent to the Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Vavathurai, built in 1970 to honour Swami Vivekananda and has thousands flock to the monument regularly to pay their respects and marvel at this beautiful icon of Indian history.
Feature image photographed by Daniel Yubi.
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