Long wait for Bhakti-Shakti

PUNE, JULY 25: It has been a long wait of nearly five years. And when it seemed that the day for the inauguration of the Bhakti-Shakti pr...

PUNE, JULY 25: It has been a long wait of nearly five years. And when it seemed that the day for the inauguration of the Bhakti-Shakti project of the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) had finally arrived, there came the implementation of the electoral code of conduct. It is now clear that it will take at least three months more for the project to see the light of day.

It was during the tenure of Shrinivas Patil, the then municipal commissioner in 1992, that the idea of Bhakti-Shakti was first conceived. In fact, the title was suggested by Patil himself. Bhakti-Shakti is a collection of statues portraying the scene of a historic meeting of one of the worlds greatest saints, Sant Tukaram, and the great Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Shivaji. Historically, Shivaji, as a young warrior with the resolve of establishing `Hindavi Swaraj’, once came to Dehu to meet Sant Tukaram to seek his blessings.

The meeting of the two great individuals, shown in the form of two groups of statues, indicates the union of strength and spiritualism, and hence the name Bhakti-Shakti. The great saint had declined to accept Shivaji’s grand gift but gave his blessings.

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Renowned sculptor Madan Garge of the Garge Art studio, Nashik, was allotted the work of making the statues. The project shows Chhatrapati Shivaji leading a group of soldiers, while a group of warkaris follow Sant Tukaram. The height of the statues of Sant Tukaram and Chhatrapati Shivaji are 20-foot while the other statues stand at 10-foot. The statues weigh 22 metric tonnes.

The unique project is coming up on a hillock along the Mumbai-Pune highway in sector 23 of Nigdi, just at the boundary of the PCMC and the Dehu Road cantonment limits, and will be one of the best attractions of Pimpri-Chinchwad. The PCMC which has incurred an expenditure of Rs 1.1 crore has plans to begin a sound and light show here in the future.

The 14 bronze statues were brought here last week and the work of installation is being carried out at present. Landscaping work, consisting of decorative pathways around the hillock is also being carried out.

The inauguration of the project was scheduled for July 21 by Governor P.C. Alexander. However, the function has been postponed due to the electoral code of conduct.