Chatrapati Shivaji Memorial in Arabian sea

The memorial, in the form of a tall statue in the Arabian sea, off the Mumbai coast has
been proposed perhaps with the statue of liberty in the United States of America in
mind. The statue of liberty has the reference frame of, the times, circumstances,
relevance and its significance for the people of that country. It is located on the Liberty
Island; the landing place for the immigrants to America. It therefore had the time frame
when the first waves of immigrants came to America, the sordid circumstances from
which they sought escape from poverty and penury, relevance of the statue as a
gateway to freedom and its significance as a symbol of liberty.
The statue of Shivaji has none of these relevance. It is proposed as a tribute to the
great leader who sought and gained for his people freedom from domination of the
barbaric muslim rulers. It must therefore have a reference frame of his great foresight in
preparing the people to defend the nation, and his dauntless efforts to defeat the forces
of occupation of our country. A bastion of Adilshahi that defied his efforts was the fort
at Janjira which held out during his and his son Smbhajis life time. Kasaa/PadmaDurg
fort was built by Sambhaji Maharaj, as a means to launch an attack on Janjira.
The fort, spread over an area of about 9 acres commanding the entrance to the Rajpuri
creek, was built about 1693 on a rock in the centre of the bay about four km. north-west
of Janjira. It stands in 3 fathoms water more than 3 km. from the main land. Its walls,
pierced by a small gateway, are, covered by six bastions about sixty feet apart. Above
the bastions rise towers built in the shape of an irregular octagon and are roofed in. The
water-supply is obtained from a large cistern which fills in rains and lasts through the dry
season The fort is irregularly shaped, following the outline of the rock on which it is built,
Padmadurga was built in front of Rajapuri in order to counter the siddi power. About this
fort Sivaji Maharaj had said in a letter that by constructing Padmadurg he had set up
another Rajpuri to overshadow the Rajpuri of the Siddis. Padmadurga currently is in
shambles for want of money, even though it is one of the five historical sea forts and
currently falls in the protected monument list of the Archaeological Survey of India.
Would it not be appropriate if the memorial is built on the site of the old fort of
Pdmadurg? It commands a good view of the entire Maharashtra coast, the Janjira fort,
is about 3 km. away from the land just opposite the Murud beach. It is easily accessible
by road from Mumbai via Rajapuri. Being an old site of the fort there may be very little
difficulties in building construction and it may be easier to obtain environmental
clearance. I, as an Architect & Town Planner with 54 years of experience, urge the
people and the government of Maharashtra to consider very seriously this option. It is a
more appropriate location for the memorial, facilitates accessibility and could be a much
lower cost solution. It could help the desire & vision of the Chatrapati to develop
Rajapuri into an important centre.
Prakash Madhusudan Apte
apteyconsult@hotmail.com