LUCKNOW: Taking inspiration from unsung heroes of the Ramayana to convey the message of commitment and devotion, the Lucknow division of Northern
Railway
will soon unveil a 15-foot tall corten steel
sculpture
of a
squirrel
at the atrium centre space of
Ayodhya Dham junction
.
According to Yuddh Kand in Valmiki’s Ramayana, while the army of mighty ‘vanars’ carried massive boulders and huge logs of wood and placed them in the ocean to build Ram Setu to reach Lanka, a squirrel scampered around picking tiny pebbles and dropping them into the ocean. The squirrel was contributing its bit towards the cause of building the bridge.
Later,
Lord Ram
noticed the commitment and devotion of the squirrel as pebbles in the ocean helped in binding logs and boulders together. Lord Ram picked up the squirrel in his hand and humbly thanked it for its efforts in the building of the bridge.
He affectionately stroked the squirrel’s back, leaving a mark of his fingers which had an eternal impression, helping the squirrel to earn its stripes.
“Like that squirrel, the Indian railways is also making efforts round the clock to contribute to nation building and for the pilgrims and passengers of Ayodhya. That is why we chose the sculpture of a squirrel which conveys the railway’s message of commitment and devotion,” said Rekha Sharma, senior divisional railway manager of Lucknow division.
The rusty orange corten steel-based sculpture changes with weather and gives an ancient monolithic feel over time. “The form is of faceted geometry, an abstract geometrical concept, which plays a bridge between something that looks old and is done in contemporary style,” Kalyan S Rathore, 52, the sculptor based in Bengaluru told TOI.
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