The sprawling Shilparamam Jatara at Madhurawada, which is slowly drawing tourists and visitors, has an added attraction from Friday — a diorama on the life of legendary freedom fighter and leader of tribal uprising in Rampa Alluri Sitarama Raju.
The narrative of the legendary freedom fighter’s life, right from as a boy, when he was known to be spiritually inclined, to his leading the exploited tribal people against the British to his martyrdom, has been told in dozen frames.
Each frame is a mix of life-like statues and the background blended to narrate an episode.
The narrative was conceptualised by former assistant director of Archaeology Sivanagi Reddy. It is reported to have cost Rs. 12 lakh to develop it. Professional artists from Kolkata were commissioned to do the work and they took three months to develop the life-like models. After shipping them to the spot, they were fixed and painted over to make them stand out.
The artists have taken care to give a touch of realism to the diorama using near-life colours.
In one panel, Alluri is painted standing in water and there are two life-like models of British soldiers. The other soldiers have been painted on the walls.
The finish ensures that the life-like models in the foreground and the painting in the background blend seamlessly.
A team of five artists led by Gautam Sarkar worked on the diorama that was unveiled on Friday by HRD Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao in the presence of Tribal Welfare Minister Ravela Kishore Babu, Zilla Parishad Chairperson Lalam Bhavani, Visakhapatnam North MLA P. Vishnukumar Raju, and District Collector N. Yuvaraj. “The government is exploring opportunities to ensure more footfalls to the tourist spot,” the Collector said.
Professional artists from Kolkata have been commissioned for the project
