Page 39 - Elixir 2023-24

Statue of Unity
How many times have you dreamt of visiting ‘Statue
of Liberty’ in New York? No wonder it was one of the wish
lists for most of the enthusiastic traveler. And now the
Indian Nation is also counted as the most popular holiday
destination for the tallest statue built upon its land.
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the ‘Iron Man of India’
was the man of firm grit, courage and enthusiasm. A
shrewd and kind heated statesman, Sardar Patel played a
pivotal role in the unification of post-independent India.
His principles and ideologies have inspired millions
across the globe and I have been no exception to it. And
this is the reason I visited. In Diwali vacation, I got the
opportunity to plan a short visit to this historic
monument with my family.
Easily Accessible Location: The Statue of Unity is easily
accessible from some of the major cities of Gujarat such as
Vadodara, Surat and Ahmedabad.
A Magnificent Work of Art: It is the world’s tallest and
most intricately designed statue, personifying the first
deputy prime minister of Independent India. An absolute
the world’s feeling. Standing tall at an impressive height
of 597 feet or 182 meters. It gave me goosebumps. I
couldn’t believe my eyes. It was a heavenly experience.
No wonder it took 250 engineers, 3400 labourers, 70,000
tons of cement, 18,500 tons of reinforcement steel bars,
6,000 tons of structural steal and 1,700 metric tons of
bronze to build this iconic statue.
Picturesque View: The real wonderment was yet to
strike me! With the mighty forest, awe-inspiring
mountains and refreshing Narmada River in its backdrop,
the very sight of the statue was eternal.
Helicopter View: Thanks to the Statue of Unity Tourism
guide, I got to know that we can even have the aerial view
of the statue.
Sneak-Peek into the life of the Iron Man of India: Next
I landed into the luge complex of the Statue of Unity that
is home to many opulent restaurants, shops and not to be
missed, the sumptuously impressive museum, which has
some of the beautifully created sculptures and paintings
that depict the entire life journey of the great Sardar
Valllabhbhai Patel.
Sardar Sarovor Dam: My next stepover was the Sardar
Sarovar Dam, the world’s second largest concrete gravity
dam. It also has boating at a specially designated spot on
the upstream of the dam on the river Narmada.
To be honest I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the iconic
statue of unity. It was simply amazing to witness the
beauties of nature complimenting the impeccable
architecture to offer a beautiful panoramic view.
Greeshma Shreyas Joshi (5A)