NTR statue unveiling at Parliament-Nandamuri family including NTR Jr

[Govindu]

 

This is an old news but need to refresh the younger generation and so I am posting this.

 

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/ntr-statue-unveiling-at-parliament-tdp-upset/article4687048.ece

 

The 13-year-old controversy over installation of the statue of TDP founder president N.T. Rama Rao in Parliament House has developed fresh strains at the goal post with the TDP nursing a grouse that it did not receive invitations from the Lok Sabha Speaker’s office for the unveiling ceremony on May 7.

The TDP Parliamentary Party led by Nama Nageswara Rao will lodge a formal complaint with Speaker Meira Kumar on Monday morning.

TDP Rajya Sabha member Sujana Chowdary told The Hindu that the invitations were neither received from the Speaker nor Union Minister and NTR’s daughter, D. Purandeswari, who sponsored the bronze statue which is 9 feet 3 inches tall and weighs 900 kg. He also questioned the locus standi of Ms. Purandeswari to send the invitations, but nonetheless, they too were not received.

 

The statue which was sculpted by an NTR admirer Devu Shankar at Vemuru village in Guntur district over the last six months was a bone of contention over donation between Ms. Purandeswari and her husband D. Venkateswara Rao, in the Congress and the TDP ever since it was approved by a Parliamentary committee on statues and portraits headed by the then Speaker G.M.C. Balayogi in 2000. Finally, Congress had its way and left the sponsorship to Ms. Purandeswari.

 

TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu who inherited the legacy of the party in 2000 and Ms. Purandeswari locked horns staking claim for donation of funds but the matter was unresolved by the House panel all these years though the issue came up at almost every meeting.

Former Speaker Somnath Chatterjee sent two reminders to Mr. Naidu’s successor Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy but he did not respond. Then, Ms. Purandeswari stepped up her efforts triggering a war of letters between her and Mr. Naidu and her brother, film star Balakrishna. The unveiling of the statue with the familiar sight of NTR raising his left hand in the waiting area six near Rajya Sabha gate of Parliament would be attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Leader of Opposition and leaders of national parties. Devu Shankar’s statues of Acharya N.G. Ranga and Tanguturi Prakasam Pantulu have already been installed in Parliament House.

 

[Govindu]

NTR statue set to begin its journey to Parliament

Guntur, May 01, 2013 09:44 IST

Updated: June 15, 2016 18:33 IST

 

- An imposing Bronze statue of N.T Rama Rao is being readied to be transported to New Delhi. Renowned sculptor from Vemuru village, Devu Shankar stands by its side at Vemuru village in Guntur District.-T. Vijaya Kumar   | Photo Credit: T VIJAYA KUMAR

 

With a raised left hand, the still head and the body ramrod straight, the chiselled features of N. T. Rama Rao have been captured countless times on celluloid and on statues dotting the streets in the State.

Amidst picturesque paddy fields dotting this village, an imposing bronze statue of NTR stands tall. The 9-foot 3 inch-high NTR was scheduled to be moved by road on Tuesday night, where it would be unveiled on the premises of Parliament on May 7 by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar.

Weighing about 900 kg, the statue is being given the finishing touches by renowned sculptor Devu Shankar at his house here. It took a little over six months to make the statue with Shankar and his sons, both post-graduates, using bronze, copper, gun metal and gum to breathe life into the statue.

 

``We had designed a model of the statue and showed it to the family members of NTR. His daughter and Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Daggubati Purandeswari, liked the design and gave the go-ahead,’’ Mr. Dasu Shankar said.

 

This is not the first time that Shankar’s statues are being installed in Parliament. The bronze statues of Acharya N.G Ranga and Tanguturi Prakasam Pantalu, both sculpted by him, have been installed on Parliament premises.

But this had to be special as Shankar had a personal relationship with NTR. He recalls that it was NTR who asked him to make the statues of Annamacharya, Telugutalli, B. Rama Krishna Rao and had them installed on Tank Bund in Hyderabad.

``It was difficult to get NTR’s appointment after he became Chief Minister. Once, I was called to be at his home at 4 a.m. Believe me, he spent close to two hours with me,’’ Mr. Shankar says.

A bit restless, Shankar appears to be in a hurry. ``A brief spell of inauspicious period during afternoon delayed the journey. I hope it will start by 7 p.m.,’’ he says and goes back to his routine of chiselling the rough edges on the statue.