Pics: Justin D'Silva
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (JD)
Udupi, Feb 25: Upendra Pai Memorial monument was on Sunday February 25 unveiled and inaugurated by MLA Pramod Madhwaraj at Manipal here. The monument, named 'The Coinage' has been installed on the way to DC's office near Country Inn & Suites hotel.
Addressing the gathering, Pramod Madhwaraj said, "My father and the Pai family of Manipal were good friends. Tonse Upendra Pai was one of the architects of modern Manipal along with his brothers. When Gautham Pai approached me with the idea of installing a memorial of the late Upendra Pai, I agreed very happily and extended my full support to the project. The present Manipal is the result of the hard work, dedication and sacrifice of both Upendra Pai and Dr T M A Pai."
Recalling the friendship among his family and the Pai family, Pramod Madhwaraj said, "Indira Gandhi had requested my mother Manorama Madhwaraj to contest against T A Pai in the 1980 elections. But my father did not allow this and told so to Indira Gandhi. None of our family members would ever contest against T A Pai, because we believed that whatever we are today is because of T A Pai."
He further said, "There are various denominations of 'paisa' in this monument. Because of Manipal institutions many families and many workers are benifitted today in various ways. There are many traffic circles in our country but only this circle has this unique monument."
Speaking about the late Upendra Pai, Sandhya Pai said, "Upendra Pai always wanted to have a home for the family, he dreamt of this at a very young age. When Narayan Kini wanted to sell 107 acres of land for Rs 7,000, Upendra Pai was interested in buying it, but many people discouraged him. He nevertheless bought this land and developed it. He was so humble that he never took credit for building the modern Manipal. He always said, 'This has happened only because of the support of the locals and my brothers'."
The monument is the brainchild of contemporary artist Tallur L N who is basically from Kundapur. It is the first monument by Tallur in Upendra Pai's hometown. The sculpture represents the old history, culture and personality of Upendra Pai. There are seven rings in the shape of coins of historical and present days. The monument weighs 6.5 ton and is 27 feet tall.
The seven coins on the monument are - replica of the pre-independence era's one pice coin with images of the sun and moon, replica of an antique coin and the image of the tiger in RBI logo, 3 paisa coin with images of fisheries and a bull with agricultural equipment, profiles of Chanakya and Mahatma Gandhi including the year he visited this region, a five paisa coin and Mangaluru tile, royal emblem of Alupa Dynasty and Kannada script from the Vijayanagara dynasty, and present day one rupee coin. Overall, the sculpture represents the life of the late Upendra Pai along with the tradition, culture and technology of the region.
A special postal cover in memory of the late Upendra Pai was also released by MLA Pramod Madhwaraj on the occasion.
Dr B M Hegde, T Sathish U Pai, chairman, Manipal Technologies Limited, Gautham Pai, Laxman Nimbargi, superindent of police, Meenakshi Madhav Bannanje, president, Udupi CMC and others were present.