A 65-year-old man in Kolkata’s Kaikhali constructed a lifelike silicone statue of his deceased wife costing Rs 25 lakh in their residence. The replica was set up by retired government worker Tapas Sandilya in memory of his late wife Indrani, who died during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The 30-kg statue is perched on a sofa in Indrani’s favorite room of their VIP Roadhouse. She wears a silk sari from Assam that she wore to her son’s wedding celebration and the gold jewelry she favored most while she was alive.
This lifelike statue was created by Subimal Das over the course of more than six months, and it was modeled after the lifelike statue of AC Bhaktivedanta Swami, the founder of the Isckon temple, that the couple saw at Mayapur.
Tapas’ devotion to his late wife draws inquisitive neighbors and even out-of-town guests. Sandilya, denying any suggestion of an attention-getting stunt, stated that his wife passed away on May 4, 2021, and he was only trying to carry out her final wishes.
A few months after Indrani passed away, Tapas started looking online for someone who could carry out his dream project, and at the start of 2022, he settled on the sculptor Subimal Das.
This was one of Subimal Das’ most difficult undertakings, the 46-year-old who primarily creates silicone reproductions for museums. He stated that having a realistic facial expression was extremely crucial for the statue, which is why it took him more than six months to complete. As initial data, pictures of Indrani’s face taken from various perspectives were gathered. Next, a clay model was created, which served as the foundation for both the fiber molding and the silicone casting.
After 39 years of marriage, Tapas remembered how he collaborated with Subimal on the clay-molding stage because he insisted that Indrani’s genuine expression be used. He added that he frequently visited a Barasat tailor.
Sculptors claim that a silicone sculpture requires less upkeep than a wax statue, despite the latter’s potential for greater realism. The price of a lifelike silicone sculpture might range from Rs. 2.5 lakh to Rs. 5 lahks, depending on a number of parameters.
The positioning of the eyes, the hair-grafting procedure, and the color-coloring process are important considerations, according to Das. The hair transplantation process took nearly 30 days to complete, and Tapas Babu also requested some grey streaks to give the statue a more realistic appearance, he added.
Tapas claimed that his family initially resisted his plan to erect such a lifelike sculpture but eventually agreed.
News Mania Desk
