Dressed in a saree of pink and gold, a middle-aged woman sits on a white sofa. Her husband is seen sitting next to her, his hand around her shoulders. A closer look reveals that the legs of the woman are unmoving. A 57-year-old businessman from Karnataka’s Koppal, K Srinivasa Gupta, installed a silicone statue of his wife at his newly-constructed home.
On August 8, guests who were invited to the housewarming ceremony at Srinivasa Gupta’s residence were left speechless after they walked through the door to see a life-like statue of his late wife Madhavi in the living room. The resemblance of the statue to the woman is so stark, it left everyone surprised, he says.
“I wanted to do something special in memory of my wife. She died three years ago in a car accident,” Srinivasa Gupta narrated. Three years ago, MVK Madhavi was travelling to Tirupati with their two daughters when she met with a fatal accident. The driver allegedly tried to avoid a speeding truck along the highway in Kolar, but the car crashed into the truck. The back of the truck rammed into the passenger side of the car, and Madhavi died immediately due to impact.
His daughters, who sustained minor injuries, recovered physically, but Madhavi’s death left the family broken. Talking about his wife’s dream to own a bungalow, Srinivasa Gupta says that he decided to construct a house in her memory two years ago. He approached over 25 architects, but none of their ideas of creating something special for his wife resonated with him.
Over a year ago, he had travelled to Gadag on business. Srinivasa, who runs a business exporting hair, heard from one of his vendors about an architect named Mahesh Rangannadavaru. Mahesh suggested that a life-size statue of Madhavi be installed in the foyer adjacent to the living room of the new house.
The architect suggested that Srinivasa hire the services of Gombe Mane, popular toymakers in Bengaluru city. “Mahesh told me that Gombe Mane had also done some work for Tontadarya Mutt in Gadag. I don’t regret it at all. This is the kind of gesture I was looking for. I placed the order about a year ago. I gave them several pictures of my wife. She looks so real,” Srinivas marvelled.