Martyrs’ Memorial all set to shine

Steel structure to house museum dedicated to Telangana martyrs

One of the largest seamless stainless steel structures in the world is set to be inaugurated on the banks of the Hussainsagar in the next few months.

“The Martyrs’ Memorial is shaped like a steel diya (lamp) and will have an infinite flame at the top that could be seen for miles across the city. We are giving finishing touches and it should be ready in two months,” says artist Ramana Reddy who has designed the monument. At 50 metres length and 30 metres width, the memorial is a little larger than an Olympic size swimming pool.

Inspired by Anish Kapoor’s Cloud Gate in Chicago, the steel structure will be a shiny steel blob where visitors can walk inside to see a museum dedicated to martyrs for the cause of Telangana.

Currently, the building is covered with a white shield while workers go about their work. The skyline of the lake will change once the shiny reflective cladding is exposed turning it into perhaps a selfie zone. Inside there will be a museum, a convention centre, a restaurant on the upper deck and a viewing gallery right under the eternal flame.

To create the seamless shiny gloss of steel, the sheets are laser-welded and undergo four rounds of grinding and four rounds of buffing. “I am from Nepal and was working in Dubai when I was asked to come and work here,” says Jugesh, who does grinding work and shows the various grinding discs and papers that will create the shine.

“The stretch starting from BRK Bhawan to Amrutha Castle has always welcomed experimental stuff (including Birla Mandir). This is one more. Memorials have moved away from being very static to more visitor participatory. We need more details about how will be the museum experience,” says Praveen Reddy, an architect.