INDIA, December 1, 2014 (The Hindu): At a time when the central government decided to celebrate the birth anniversary of Tamil poet Tiruvalluvar in schools across the country, his majestic statue may soon find a place in Moscow, Russia.
“Tiruvalluvar is a great and celebrated poet. His contribution to the Tamil literature is well known. We have received a request from an organization to install his statue in Moscow. We are eager to establish his statue,” Sergey L. Kotov, Consul General of Russia, told The Hindu here. There is also a move to set up a statue of Aleksandr Pushkin, legendary Russian poet and founder of modern Russian literature, in Chennai. His country would be pleased to have his statue in India, the envoy said.
The modalities of installing the statue, its location and the agency to be involved in it were being worked out. It would improve the overall India-Russia relationship, he said, adding that it would also help step up cultural exchanges between the two countries. Stating that Tamil folk music, cinema and dances were popular in Russia, Mr. Kotov said such opportunities to showcase the cultural richness had not been utilized for long.