And shrouded sits the wise poet

It’s 18 years since the statue of poet Thiruvalluvar was put on a pedestal in a small park on Annaswamy Mudaliar Street, bang opposite the Ulsoor lake in Bangalore.

The statue of the poet was draped in sackcloth, which had to be unravelled during the ceremonial unveiling. But the wait turned out to be an unending one as every move to unveil the statue inflamed passions and had to be aborted.

The Bangalore Tamil Sangam, meanwhile, moved the High Court of Karnataka, seeking its intervention to get the statue inaugurated. The case dragged on and the poet laureate’s statue remained covered.

The sackcloth might have protected the wordsmith from the ravages of time. But the park around remained unkempt with litter piling up.

A sea of plastic and paper waste now surrounds the Thiruvalluvar statue.

Even the announcement by chief minister BS Yeddyurappa to unveil the statue on August 9 has not brought any changes to the status of the park, where the statue of the poet stands.

“Since the case is pending before the court, we are not allowed to clear the place. We have been asked to guard the place. Until we get permission from the court or the government, we cannot do anything,” said a police officer, who was guarding the statue.

M Meenakshi Sundaram, president, Bangalore Tamil Sangam, said the Sangam is making preparations to withdraw the case pending in the High Court to create a congenial atmosphere to unveil the statue.

“For the past 18 years, the statue has been covered by sack. We have to clean the statue and the park as well. We are waiting for the permission from the government and the court to clean up the area. We are planning to withdraw the case file in High Court. Once it is done, we will clear the place and make preparations for the function,” he added.