Shanu Lahiri

Is art only for hanging in elegant drawing rooms? One artist who always said no was Shanu Lahiri, also called Kolkata's "First Lady of Public Art". She gave the city "Poroma" -- a towering idol of a tribal woman that had pride of place at a traffic roundabout on an arterial road. But that was torn down in 2014 by the state.

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.

A landmark of Kolkata has just vanished. The towering 30-foot Paroma statue - one of the biggest pieces of the city's public art which stood for 27 years on the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass - disappeared probably on Monday night. A heap of rubble is all that's left.

Is art only for hanging in elegant drawing rooms? One artist who always said no was Shanu Lahiri, also called Kolkata's "First Lady of Public Art". She gave the city "Poroma" -- a towering idol of a tribal woman that had pride of place at a traffic roundabout on an arterial road. But that was torn down in 2014 by the state.

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.

A landmark of Kolkata has just vanished. The towering 30-foot Paroma statue - one of the biggest pieces of the city's public art which stood for 27 years on the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass - disappeared probably on Monday night. A heap of rubble is all that's left.