The Largest Bird Sculpture On Earth Took Artists 10 Years To Complete

The idyllic setting of Kerala, India boasts wonderful views of nature which are best seen from Jatayu Earth’s Center. A joint venture between India’s tourism department and Rajiv Anchal (film director and sculptor), the nature park has been open since late 2017. It’s since garnered a massive claim to fame; Jatayu Earth’s Center is home to the largest bird sculpture in the world.

The bird, also named Jatayu, has an astounding set of measurements. It’s 200 feet long, 150 feet wide, and 70 feet tall. The sculpture features meticulous details you would not expect at such a massive scale, including individually decorated and layered feathers. Jatayu’s impressive wings splay onto the ground that allows visitors to walk on top of the figure and climb onto his talons and head. They are meant to go inside of Jatayu as well. The bird’s body doubles as a roof for the Earth Center’s building—making the work of art a functional one. It’s no surprise that this incredible structure took Anchal and his team ten years to complete.

Apart from being an amazing feat of design and architecture, there is also an important context to the massive sculpture. Jatayu is a symbolic figure in the Hindu epic Ramayana. Also known as a “noble bird of divine origin,” the legend has it that he tried to save Sita, the wife of the famed Lord Rama (an incarnation of Vishnu and Krishna). Sita was being abducted by the demon king Ravana, and Jatayu came to her defense.

After he battled with Ravana, the king cut off Jatayu’s left wing and escaped with Sita. Jatayu Earth’s Center decided to pay tribute to the noble figure’s dedication to women’s safety and honor it with the giant statue. The sculpture symbolically recognizes a “bygone era when humans, animals, and other living forms care for each other, and fellow beings lived peacefully on this Earth.”

Jatayu Earth Centre and adventure park opens in Kerala https://t.co/BbEUAg5bqd pic.twitter.com/dps3PZmbAa

— DNA (@dna) November 30, 2017

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Jonny Melon 🍉 (@jonny.melon) on Apr 9, 2019 at 7:34am PDT

Jatayu Earth’s Center: Website

h/t: Design You Trust