Everything about AIADMK supremo and Tamil Nadu chief minister is grand and her plans are also grand. She wanted to install the highest statue in the country to honor Tamil language, a statue that compares with Statue of Liberty in the USA.

Since size does matter when the person involved is Jayalalithaa, the plans got stuck for some time as the Modi government announced its plans to carve and install the highest statue in Gujarat– a statue of iron man, Sardar Vallabhai Patel.

But even then, two numbers kept popping up in connection with Tamil Annai statue – 247 and 18. It was said the statue could be 247 feet tall and 18 feet in width, that would make it the most strikingly tall statue in the country.

Ever since Jayalalithaa announced on May 13 her plans for getting a statue of Tamil Annai personifying Tamil language it was clear that it would be grand. Money would not be constraint for the statue to be carved at Madurai. Rough estimates for the statue amount to Rs 100 crore.

But the measurements of the statue are a state secret.

Tamil language’s 247 characters lend the statue its height and the width is planned at 18 feet denoting the 18 consonants of Tamil language (Mei Ezhuthukal), those in the know say. But, nothing has been declared officially so far. But government officials have sought suggestions from workers in Tamil sangam on the statue and whether it would be possible to make a statue with such specifications.

When installed, the statue would easily stand taller than Thiruvalluvar statue located at Kanyakumasri. The height of the Thiruvalluvar statue was 133 feet high, representing the 133 chapters of Thirukkural.

When things began to gather speed, word came that the central government had plans to erect a statue of Sardar Vallabai Patel in Gujarat. Tamil Nadu government put on hold its preparations as it did not want to be upstaged by anyone, when it came to grandeur. It was only after the Sardar Patel statue measurements were made public, that it was going to be 182 feet high, that the state government reactivated its processes.

But this out of the way, it was thought that things would gather momentum given the fact that elections were around the corner. But no, the site of installation could not be finalized.

Since the government could not decide on the exact spot for installing the Tamil Annai statue, there will be more delay in installing the statue.

Valliyur Kanmoi (canal), near the Pandi Temple was the first choice, but then other spots like Elandhakulam Kanmoi and Thamukkam came up for consideration. At Thamukkam, a smaller statue is located.

Officials in the Ulaga Tamil Sangam (World Tamil Association) finally settled on the newly inaugurated World Tamil Association premises in Tallakulam as the right spot. But, the government continues to dilly dally on the spot, holding up the entire process.

In the meanwhile, elections could throw up a different government and people are wondering whether the new government would entertain similar plans.

Incidentally, the first Tamil Annai statue was unveiled by former Chief Minister M.G.Ramachandran at the Thamukam grounds in Madurai during the fifth World Tamil Conference in January 1981.