The statue of
Raja Ram Mohan Roy
was so lifelike that everyone gave it a second look. People gathered around, commenting on the high quality of the work. Then someone in the group said, “Let’s click a selfie.” As everyone got into position with a smile, the sculpture too broke into a grin, giving everyone the shock of their lives. After all, it was not a statue, but artiste Gopal Mondal.
Gopal has become a crowd favourite over the past few days in the
Nandan
area with his two appearances — first, as the father of the Bengal Renaissance and another day, as the Police Memorial statue from the Maidan. His accurate makeup and ability to stand still for hours has amazed people visiting the Kolkata International Film Festival.
Gopal, a daily wage labourer from Kulpi in South 24-Parganas, hopes that these appearances will help him earn some extra money. His life of penury doesn’t reflect in his art though. “As a child, I would take part in the annual Go As You Like in our village. I wanted to look different every time. When I grew up, I had to take up the work of a labourer. But I try to keep my love for art going,” said Gopal. The artiste, who has two school-going sons to take care of, earns ₹250 daily.
“On special occasions like a mela, I take leave from work and come to Kolkata. For the film festival, I leave home at 10 am, take all my clothes and makeup in a big kit, board a rush-hour train and come to Nandan. On the first day, before getting ready, I took permission from the organisers and policemen on duty. After dilly-dallying, they allowed me to dress up within the Nandan premises,” he said.
Gopal said he read up on
Raja Ram
Mohan Roy on the internet and worked on his look. He even mixed the colours at home and stitched his own clothes. “I went to this year’s Red Road rally for Durga Puja and spent hours at Dharmatala, where I saw the Police Memorial. We lost
Amitava Malik
, the 27-year-old subinspector on duty in Darjeeling. To pay my tribute to him, I dressed up as the Police Memorial statue,” he said.
Gopal said though the feedback at Nandan was great, he didn’t earn all that much. “I got around ₹300 each day, which doesn’t even cover the cost of makeup and travel. Also, as a statue, I couldn’t ask for money. If people want, I would love to appear as
Mahatma Gandhi at Nandan one more time,” he said.
Gopal is endowed with a special power — he can pose without blinking for more than an hour. Those who saw him on the two days, couldn’t agree more.
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