In memory of a deceased bull, a farmer has installed its life-sized statue on his private land near Vellakoil in Tiruppur district.
P. Chellamuthu, who was born into a family of farmers, said that the Kangeyam bull was born in the cowshed at his residence in Pappampalayam in Mettupalayam village panchayat in Vellakoil Panchayat Union. It died at the age of eight in 2018 after prolonged illness. “Ever since the death, I wanted to do something to honour its memory,” he said. The bull was nicknamed ‘ Othakomban ’ (one-horned) after one of the horns broke when it was young, Mr. Chellamuthu recalled.
Installed at a cost of ₹ 2 lakh, the bull’s statue was unveiled on Monday with rituals held in the presence of residents from the village. The sculpting took nearly five months, Mr. Chellamuthu said, as the original photographs of the bull were used to ensure resemblance. The nearly five feet tall statue was placed on a pedestal. “It now gives me some satisfaction,” Mr. Chellamuthu said.
