Impressed by Kerala bird sculpture, officials want similar in Dubai

Impressed by the 70-feet tall bird sculpture here that attracts numerous visitors, a visiting top Dubai Tourism official said he wants to build a similar structure of the national bird of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) - a falcon - in Dubai.

Majid Al Marri, director stakeholder relations, Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce, his team and Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Saturday conducted an hour-long helicopter tour of the capital city.

He said he was amazed by the imposing Jatayu Nature Park, spread across an area of 65 acres, which houses the sculpture of the mythical bird Jatayu.

Marri later told IANS that they wish to built a similar structure - in Dubai - of the Falcon which is their national bird.

"A similar structure based on the falcon - our national bird - would be good in Dubai. We are returning in February and by then we will have more pictures of this," said Marri.

Award-winning filmmaker and sculptor Rajiv Anchal started working on the project a decade back and is likely to finish it by early next year.

The structure of the bird, which is almost complete, is 200-feet long, 150-feet broad, 70-feet tall and built on a floor area of 15,000 square feet.

The location where Anchal's piece of art is coming up is, according to legend, believed to be connected with the mythical character 'Jatayu' in the epic Ramayana.

And the rock, 'Jatayupara', where this bird sculpture is built is believed to be the place where the mythical bird 'Jatayu' fell after its wings were chopped off by the demon king Ravana.

"Yes, they have mooted the idea of having a similar one in the UAE. My first priority is to complete this one which I expect to finish early next year," said Anchal.