Odisha family remembers deceased woman through silicone statue in house

Berhampur (Odisha): Members of the family of a woman who died during the COVID pandemic are trying to fill the void of her absence with a silicone statue of her in the living room of their house in southern Odisha's Berhampur city.

Businessman Prashant Kumar Nayak (52) got the life-size statue of his wife Kiran sitting on a sofa and clad in saree and wearing gold ornaments installed earlier this year before the marriage of their elder daughter.

The deceased woman's younger daughter Mehak, an MBA student, takes care of the statue by frequently changing saree and ornaments.

"Killer COVID snatched my wife but when I look at this statue, I feel as if she is home, with us. She always inspired me when she was alive," Nayak said.

They married in 1997 and have three children, including two daughters and a son.

"A few days after my wife's death on April 25, 2021, my children wanted a statue of her in the house so that they don't feel her absence. I promptly agreed and asked my daughters to contact a sculptor.

"A Bengaluru-based sculptor took around a year to create the exact lookalike statue using fibre, rubber and silicone. It cost us around Rs 8 lakh, including transportation cost," he said.

Nayak said the statue was installed before his elder daughter's marriage so that relatives feel his wife's presence.

Mehak said that they had given several photographs to the sculptor for perfection and had also visited Bengaluru twice and consulted with him on video calls.

"After the installation of the statue in our home, we are feeling a constant presence of our mother," she said.