Tamil Nadu man installs statue at home in memory of wife

74-year-old Sethuraman felt a vacuum in his life after his wife of 48 years, Pichaimani, died on August 10 following a heart attack. The void left by his wife is hard to fill, Sethuraman knew, but he decided to get a statue of his late-life partner installed at his house in Madurai to “feel her presence” round-the-clock.

On September 10, Thursday, 30 days after he lost his wife, the septuagenarian posed for pictures standing next to a four-feet tall statue of Pichaimani in a sitting position in his residence. “We lived happily for 48 years and she had never left me alone even to go to her parent’s place. We were living a content life until my wife fell ill. She was hospitalised for ten days, but doctors could not save her,” Sethuraman told DH over the phone from Madurai, 465 km from here.

The statue made of plastic fibre was finished in just 22 days by a sculptor named Prasanna, who burnt the midnight oil to deliver it on time to his customer. In a display of his love for his late wife, Sethuraman also got a portrait of Pichaimani, who was 68, made in 10 days and it now occupies prime space in the sprawling drawing room of his house.

“I was determined to get the statue installed and the portrait hung on the wall on the day we observed the 30th day of my wife’s death. Thankfully, I could get the statue installed on Thursday. It is an expression of my feelings and love for my wife,” Sethuraman, who has three daughters, said. His elder daughter Kanimozhi is married to DMK MLA from Tiruparankundram P Saravanan.

The 74-year-old man, who owns three marriage halls in Madurai, says the statue and portrait of his wife allow him to feel her presence. “I know I will not get her back. What else can I do other than getting a statue? The sculptor said he cannot make it in 22 days, but I pressured him so much that he delivered on time. I still miss my wife,” he said.

The incident comes close on the heels of an industrialist in Karnataka installing a statue of his wife who died in a car crash in 2017 during the house-warming ceremony of his new house.

“After my wife’s death, my grandchildren stay with me. But the void left by my wife can never be filled,” he said.