'Bharat Mata ki Jai, Mera Bhagyanagar Mahaan' echo at Statue of Equality

Hyderabad: The towering statue catches your eye from around 4 to 5 km away. On getting closer, you will see a crowd of people like a swarm of bees outside the compound wall of the statue.

It's around 4:30 p.m on 5 February. The golden statue of the saint seated on a golden lotus, holding a staff in his arms, and with his palms folded in a welcoming gesture glistens in the evening sun. From near the compound wall, one can just see the tall, towering statue high up against the clear blue sky. The gopuras of the 108 temples surrounding the statue are also visible.

But more than the statue, all eyes are eagerly waiting for someone. Outside the compound wall, people sit patiently on the sides of the road to get a glimpse of that person. A teenage girl walks holding the Tricolor in her hand. A few kids, who came along with the elderly, run and play, occasionally falling down, not burdened by the weight of expectant eyes surrounding them but by the innocence of their own worlds.

The tired and expectant crowd is suddenly awakened by the sound of two helicopters that flow down to the inauguration site. The crowd starts cheering, "Modi, Modi..."

Young, excited boys climb up on a few boulders and try to see what's going on inside. Police personnel walk up to them and ask them to get down, only to find them back on the boulders the moment they turn their backs. Some other smarter boys climb trees, hoping to get the best view.

Among the common public eagerly waiting are priests and volunteers working in Chinna Jeeyar Swamy Ashram. "The fight against discrimination started almost 1,000 years ago by Sri Ramanujacharya. He broke open the secret law and let the Dalits and other backward people enter temples that were previously open to Brahmins alone. In this way, he made way for the people belonging to backward communities to go ahead. This is why his statue is chosen as the Statue of Equality. Yeh samatha ka murthi hai," explains a volunteer from Vikasa Tarangini, an NGO founded by Chinna Jeeyar.

He adds, "There is a lot of discrimination going on in our society. This statue will be a motivation for the people to treat their fellowmen equally."

He continues, "This location was selected because of the Divya Saketham temple here and also due to the good visibility it will provide to tourists and other people flying to this part of the country."

Meanwhile, some people jostle at the barricades placed near the entry gate expecting to get a closer, clearer view.

Though the Prime Minister has arrived, people are still waiting to get a glimpse of him. A few people watch the proceedings live on their mobile phones. Suddenly one of the boys watching the live event, shouts, "There he is." The crowd starts cheering and shouting slogans.

For a minute, the PM, visible as a speck, becomes more visible than the gigantic statue itself.

The crowd starts chanting "Modi, Modi...", "Jai Shri Ramannarayana", and "Jai Modi".

People start forming small groups, jumping and loudly calling out these slogans. Interestingly, people also shout slogans like "Bharat Mata Ki Jai".

All of a sudden, out of nowhere a person calls out, "No Chinese products, no China, only India. Bharat sabse sarvsresht hai."

Another calls out, "Mera Bharat Mahaan, Mera Bhagyanagar Mahaan…"

Sloganeering continues as dusk settles in. Just like the statue that glows in different colours, the air echoes with the different shades of the slogans.