Jangaon: Statue of saint-poet Pothana to be installed at Bammera

Kakatiya Heritage Trust (KHT) is entrusted with the task, and the trust would finalise the tenders for the chiseling of the statue from a granite block

Jangaon: The State government will install a 20-feet tall statue of saint-poet ‘Bammera’ Pothana at his native village Bammera of Palakurthy mandal in the district as a part of the development of a memorial project at a cost of Rs 7.50 crore.

Kakatiya Heritage Trust (KHT) is entrusted with the task, and the trust would finalise the tenders for the chiseling of the statue from a granite block. “The weight of the statue would be around 100 tonnes. ‘Stapathis’ of Warangal will be given the tenders to make the statue,” KHT trustee M Panduranga Rao told Telangana Today. Panduranga Rao, a former professor of NIT-Warangal, has been overseeing development works of the Bammera Pothana project.

Prof Rao also said that about 50 per cent of the major works taken up as part of the Pothana memorial project were completed so far at Bammera, where the grave of saint-poet Pothana located. “We are constructing a convention centre, an interpretation centre, a food court, toilet block and an amphitheatre at Bammera. The statue of Pothana will be installed at the amphitheatre,” he said and added that the works of the project were going in full swing.

“We are also going to develop Lakkamaba stream which flows beside the land identified for the Pothana memorial and also construct a check-dam across the stream to store the water. This would create a pleasant atmosphere to the visitors,” Prof Rao said, adding that the well which was used by Pothana to irrigate the land would also be renovated. The Kakatiya Heritage Trust (KHT) purchased four acres and 30 guntas of land that was tilled by the great poet, who was also a farmer.

The Pothana memorial was neglected for decades by the erstwhile governments. Though Pothana was born in Bammera, false propaganda stating that he belonged to Kadapa district was spread in the undivided Andhra Pradesh. Pothana, who was the author of ‘Narayana Shathakam’, ‘Veerabhadra Vijayam’ and ‘Bhogini Dandakam’, said to have refused to dedicate his epic to the king for worldly gains and was content in living his life as a peasant. He was of the opinion that poetry was a divine gift and that it should be utilised for salvation by dedicating it to God. Such was his commitment to literature.

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