Hyderabad: Telangana finally has an acceptable design in place for the state tableau for the next year’s Republic Day parade. It had been reported in October that the Centre had rejected a pitch from Telangana for tableau representing the newly-formed state. “But that was not the case,” explains artist Ramana Reddy, who, over the last month has done everything he could to re-pitch the state’s case.
He says, “Telangana was asked to present the concept with few modifications and appear at a meeting. This was not conveyed and it appeared like we missed a chance. So I approached the High Court for another chance and got a call on Thursday from Delhi confirming that the new design had been accepted.”
While the earlier design, inspired by the Golconda Fort, had failed to make the cut, the new, approved design has a lot of symbolism from the state. “The front of the tableau will feature a 15-foot tall sculpture of Potharaju, who is an extremely important symbol today in India as the protector of women. He is considered aggressive and emotional, but only to protect what is right,” explains the artist, who has been instrumental in the struggle for the cultural identity of the new state.
The rear of the tableau will have Deccani rock landscapes with village scenes and tribal goddesses etched. Twenty five performers will also be part of the presentation at the Republic Day parade.
