Did you know that the Statue of Unity — the mammoth statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel — is now visible from space?
If not, I am afraid dear reader, that it’s ‘heights’ of ignorance!
To kahaani yeh hai that the 182-metre-tall statue —which is twice the size of the Statue of Liberty and the tallest statue in the world — can now also boast of ‘universal’ appeal! Not only can it be viewed from the banks of the Narmada river — but also reportedly from anywhere in the antriksh.
The statue’s image was captured by a satellite and uploaded to Twitter by Planet Labs, a commercial satellite network.
Bas phir kya tha? The image went viral and everyone from the national to international media covered it. And seeing the statue of our beloved leader attaining new ‘heights’ of fame made us as Indians feel very patriotic. Desi pride, FTW!
Chotti Si Baat
Now, some have been quick to point out how the cost of the statue (Rs. 2989 crore) is too much for our country to bear. But I say, since it’s taken the name of our country to such oonchai, it’s a chotta price to pay!
Earlier, coming anywhere near the word ‘tall’ would have been a tall order for us, considering how desi men are overshadowed in this matter by men of other nationalities. And desi women happen to be among the shortest in the world!
So thanks Statue of Unity, for giving Indians the golden chance to make bharpur tall claims!
China Se Bada India
Sach poocho to what makes the Statue of Unity even more special for us Indians is that it makes even China look smaller! The statue has snatched the bragging rights of China in the tallest statue department — by being 177 feet higher than China's Spring Temple Buddha!
Ah, what a moment of pride it is to have finally towered over China — although the difference between their economy and ours is as much as the height difference between Amitabh Bachchan and his wife, Jaya.
But let’s worry about the geopolitical order later. And get you some news straight from space.
What Sources from Space Say
If my sources are to be believed, ever since the colossal Statue of Unity became visible to our friends in space, they have taken to Patel’s message of unity rather seriously. Reportedly, fights among aliens have stopped completely. Sadly, back home, we still seem more divided than the Big Boss house. Sigh!
Here’s another thing we are being told: That even though ‘upar wala’ is mighty impressed looking at Sardar Patel’s statue from up high, he has some concerns too. “If you can build a world famous statue in 42 months, why have you been unable to build hospitals for the sick and dying in so many years”. And nobody really has an answer to that.
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