Lonavla: His vow of silence was
as eloquent as his rant against the government on Jan Lokpal.
Capturing that silent defiance, a wax statue of Anna
Hazare was unveiled at Varsoli village on the outskirts of
this hill station, around 110 km from Mumbai, on Saturday.
The tribute in wax to the Gandhian is complete with
his own Gandhi cap, the one he had worn during his fast at
Delhi's Ramlila Maidan, his own clothes, spectacles and, of
course, the unmistakable resoluteness in his eyes.
The statue, commissioned by the Celebrity Wax Museum,
was unveiled on November 19 to coincide with the death
anniversary of anti-graft campaigner's mother Laxmibai.
Before the unveiling, the statue was taken to Ralegan
Siddhi in adjoining Ahmednagar district to be shown to Hazare
(74), who smilingly looked at the statue and touched it several times out of curiosity, says Sunil Kandalloor, the artist who created it.
"Anna donated his trademark Gandhi cap and his clothes
for the statue. Anna had worn this cap during his hunger
strike for the Jan Lokpal Bill in Delhi. This cap has great
heritage value and would be a treasured possession for the
museum," says Kandalloor.
Asked from where the idea of making Hazare's statue came, he said several visitors to the museum had suggested having a wax replica of the Gandhian.
"Anna has created widespread awareness about the
menace of corruption. He is the real hero of the masses," he
said.
PTI
First Published: Monday, November 21, 2011, 16:08