He said the Sculpture denoted the impact letters had brought to the City of Kottayam and will remain a symbol of inspiration and motivation for the people to carry forward their journey for progress in Education and Literacy.
He added that the Public Library is the face of Kottayam and the masterly composition of this scenic splendor in front of the library by Kanai will make the citizens of Kottayam proud and could feel scaling the pinnacle of Sculptural aesthetics.
Library president Abraham Itticheria presided over the function. Minister for Transport ThiruvanchoorRadhakrishnan delivered the keynote address. Kanayi spoke on the message the Silpam conveys to the living and to unborn generations. Jose K Mani MP, MadavanaBalakrishnaPillai and C G Vasudevan also spoke on the occasion.
In this function, Honorable RajyaSabhaDeputy Chairman Prof. P J Kurien inaugurated the quasquicentennial block of the library, constructed in 3 floors as an extension of the Main Building. The foundation stone of this extension was laid in Jan 2011 by Honorable Union Minister Salman Khurshid.
Besides AksharaSilpam Kanai has added great art works like ‘Vanarodanam’, ‘Sooryavattam’ and also other installations. The main sculpture, ‘AksharaSilpam’, depicts a mother initiating her child into the world of letters while sitting in her lap, and the older girl child keenly looking on and the son lying nearby on the ground reading a book. The message of the Silpam is that a child should learn the alphabet from the Mother, getting the maternal touch and care from its tender age, and that protects it from drifting on to wrong tracks in later life. The aberrations take place when the motherly love is missed by the child. Kanai has used Bricks, Cement, Steel Bars and Stainless steel for his Sculptural Creations. It took two years for him to complete the complex while staying in the Library Guest House.Next to the sculpture, is a platform called ‘Aksharamuttam’, where Vidyarambham ceremony can be performed. Vanarodanam a steel art work warns people against the damage caused to environment. A Hornbill is spreading her wings in despair at the disaster inflicted by man on Nature. The third work ‘Sooryavattam’, made of stainless steel, is a contemporary art work. There are many installation works alongside on culture, history and puranas, in which he displays the early scripts of Malayalam language like ‘Vattezhuthu and kolezhuthu’ and their evolution and transformation through centuries.
