Shillong (Meghalaya) [India], January 4 : Indian artist and filmmaker Raphael Warjri expressed his gratitude to the Meghalaya government for giving him the opportunity to create a sculpture of U Tirot Sing, Meghalaya's revered freedom fighter, inaugurated at Dhaka in February 2024.
Commissioned by the Government of Meghalaya, the sculpture was a tribute to U Tirot Sing's legacy and his historical connection to Dhaka, Bangladesh, where he was imprisoned and ultimately laid down his life for the country.
While speaking to ANI, the filmmaker said, "I can mention that when we did the freedom fighter project for the Indian High Commission in Dhaka, the government of Meghalaya commissioned us to do the sculpture of U Tirot Singh, because he has a historical relation with Dhaka. He was kept in custody there and later he died there...We were given this opportunity. I felt very grateful to the government of Meghalaya for giving the trust in us to execute this job. And we have done it successfully."
It was done in line with the celebration of the 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mohotsav.'
Warjri further said that he perceives his art as more than mere execution, stating, "My involvement in art is not just for art's sake. It is beyond that."
With the current projects in hand, the filmmaker aims to project the Meghalaya Cultural and National heritage through his work.
"To project cultural heritage and national heritage that we have and let the people understand it well rather than... showing it just for the sake of showing about the people or about the culture, about the festival or whatever. So this is what we try to do. So let's see, I'm just trying to do the best that I can." added Warjri
Currently, Warjri is collaborating with organisations such as MES 101 Area, ICAR, and the Archaeological Survey of India on several projects.
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