Major Bhavna Chauhan
Did you know that the world’s tallest statue is now in India?
At 182 metres height, the Statue of Unity located in Kevadia, Gujarat is the world’s tallest statue. It’s twice as tall as America’s Statue of Liberty and China’s Buddha Spring temple. Construction started in 2014 and it was inaugurated on 31st October 2018 by the P.M. Narendra Modi.
This majestic, towering monument is a tribute to the Ironman of India, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, one of India’s leading statesman. Sardar Patel was the architect of United India, responsible for the integration of over 500 princely states into the Indian Union. The Statue of Unity is built on an island “Sadhu Bet”, facing the Narmada river, in the backdrop of the dramatic Satpura hills. It is connected to the mainland by an exquisite 250 metre bridge.
A tempting weekend holiday in October presented the opportunity to visit this famous tourist attraction. Early morning, we took off from Gandhinagar by road and three hours later, landed in Kevadia. The Statue of Unity is one of the major attractions planned in the City of Ekta nagar(Kevadia). The city also offers tour to the Sardar Sarovar Dam, Valley of flowers, boating facilities, a zoo, safari, aviary and an impressive glow garden.
A quick breakfast and we headed to the SOU complex armed with tickets. All ticket bookings are done online. There are no tickets you can buy upfront. Bookings are sold out weeks in advance given that it’s the biggest tourist attraction in Gujarat now.
From the minute we entered the complex, the beauty of the colossal monument and excellently managed system captivated us. The towering statue against the green hills and the Narmada river in the foreground is a sight to behold. Well managed crowds and queues, prominent signage, airport style travelators, escalators and shaded walkways everywhere are well thought of features. The SOU complex boasts of 3-star hotels, shopping centers and a research center. The statue itself houses an auditorium, photo gallery, viewing deck lifts, escalators par excellence.
Incorporating the theme into the Design
Keeping in mind the theme, an outreach programme was instituted by the government asking Indian farmers to donate their used farming equipment to collect Iron for the statue of Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel. An agricultural tool each from 7,00,000 villages of India was collected. Eventually, 5000 tonnes of Iron was amassed , melted and incorporated into the colossal statue of Sardar Patel. A befitting ode to the theme of unity and integration indeed.
As an architect, I was blown away by the architectural detailing and the engineering prowess that went into the construction of this monument. It is a beautifully designed and built structure , totally befitting a world class monument. It is designed by renowned Indian sculptor Ram V. Sutar, a Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri awardee. He studied 2000 photographs of Sardar Patel to create the face. The statue captures the likeness of Sardar Vallabh bhai Patel to a tee . 5,700 tonnes of structural steel and 90,000 tonnes cement have been used in the statue. 1850 tonnes of bronze cladding was also consumed. It is an earthquake and wind resistant structure.
After viewing the Statue from outside, we headed to the museum located in the base of the statue. The Museum in the SOU complex showcases the history that made the dream of united India possible. It has related documents, artefacts, latest 3D mapping projection and audio video holographic attractions. A movie on the independence struggle was showing in the auditorium .
After the museum, we made our way to the entry queue for the viewing gallery. The observation deck is at a height of 135 metres on the chest of Sardar Patel statue, accessible by high speed elevators. Since it accommodates only 200 people at a time, one has to book time slots(two hours each). Tickets to the viewing gallery are extra at Rs. 350 and are totally worth the price.
The piece de resistance is the viewing gallery and observation deck which offers breath taking views of the panoramic view of the Narmada river, Sardar Sarovar dam and surrounding Satpura and Vindhyachal hills. And what an amazing view it was. We spent an hour taking in the bird’s eye view and clicking pictures. Then we made our way down to the spacious food court. There is a sound and light show at the complex in the evening also.
After visiting the Statue, you can choose amongst the other attractions. For us, it was a unanimous vote for the dam visit and the jungle safari, aviary. All in all, wonderful and memorable experience.
In stark contrast to majority of tourist places in India, SOU is managed extremely well. Escalators, lifts, spanking toilets, drinking water available easily (you can carry empty bottles for free refill) and information booths are in place. Motorized cleaning equipments and effective crowd management make it a very pleasurable tourist experience. As a much travelled tourist, I have seen many poorly managed UNESCO and heritage sites lacking basic signage, information and public services. But, the Statue of Unity stands out as a modern, global monument representing the New India. My heart swelled with pride at the world class monument created and showcased so well. I wish other tourist places in India would follow this ethics and management too.
Few tips:
Book your tickets online. It’s a huge tourist attraction and tends to get crowded on weekends and public holidays. Viewing gallery tickets are sold separately. Carry hats, caps, umbrella. Most of the year round, Kevadia is hot. There is a lot of walking involved, so carry sensible shoes. It’s a day trip from Ahmedabad , Gandhinagar and Vadodara. But if you want to experience all the facilities at SOU-the glow garden, valley of flowers, Sardar Sarovar dam, you may want to make it a two day stay.
