Thiruvananthapuram: The Medical College Hospital (MCH) has banned the worship of the iconic ‘mother and child’ statue in front of SAT Hospital after superstitious rituals here became an internet sensation. The lighting of candles and mud lamps in front of the statue was exposed by rationalists on social media. MCH issued a statement on Monday claiming that the statue built in 1990 was just part of beautification efforts in the campus and was not the figure of any goddess.
“A board warning against worship has been put up for patients. We appeal to them not to be carried away by any superstitious propagated in connection with the statue. There are oxygen plants, intensive care units and a blood bank near the statue,” the statement said. The statue was built by sculptor Aryanad Rajendran who was a former employee of the hospital. He used to be an artistic modular and drew figures connected to the human anatomy for medical students.
He built around 15 non-academic figures for MCH of which the mother and child statue was prominent. It took around seven months to complete as against the original plan of three. The Paediatric Association conference had allocated the money to build the statue that cost Rs 25,000 then. The 22 feet tall statue was built using bricks, steel and was inaugurated on Children’s day on November 14. Further, landscaping was added around it in 1992. “The figure is that of a normal woman wearing a dhothi and blouse. Please don’t affix any superstitions to it”, artist Rajendran said.
