The Paroma statue on the EM Bypass roundabout in Kolkata disappeared 2 weeks ago
In Kolkata, the landmark that vanished into thin air brought outraged protestors out on the streets on Thursday, slamming the government for its callous attitude towards the artist who created it and towards the citizens.
Two weeks ago, a 40-foot statue called Paroma disappeared from a prominent traffic roundabout on the EM Bypass. A government agency had apparently removed it as a senior minister of the Mamata Banerjee-led government wanted it replace with a globe. The statue, by artist Shanu Lahiri, had been put up in 1987.
Anik Dutta, filmmaker of 'Bhooter Bhobbishot' fame, said, "How can a particular person or a particular dispensation just take an arbitrary decision? Not just about the statue but about painting the city blue and white as well. When I travel around Kolkata these days, I often keep my eyes shut."
Ruby Pal Chowdhury, an old friend of Shanu Lahiri and a crafts activist, said, "Its unpardonable. What are they? Are they monsters. I think they are monsters who have done this."
Mr Lahiri, the artist, died last year. Her daughter, Damayanti, is not only devastated by the statue's removal but also by what has been done to it.
"From what newspapers say, its been cut up into pieces. It was a fiberglass structure that could have been relocated. Its just outrageous in Kolkata," she said.
The villain of the piece, in most eyes, is the ruling Mamata Banerjee-led government.
"We keep hearing about her slogan Maa Mati Manush," said Banani Kakkar, an environment activist. "If there was one art piece that had the spirit of Maa Mati Manush, it was Shanu Lahiri's statue Paroma and its gone today. Its very sad."
Pradeep Kakkar, a Kolkatan, said, "The best thing that could come out of this is for the government to support the recreation of the statue and its re-installation. That would at least show Kolkata is the cultural capital, it knows things can go wrong but it also knows how to do damage control in case of art."
So far, there has been no word from the urban development minister Firhad Hakim who apparently ordered Paroma's removal. The question is whether the voices of these citizens will fall on deaf ears.