Hi Everybody,

 

Some time ago I was requested by the Indian Army to design a War Memorial at Jodhpur to honour the soldiers who died fighting in the '65 and '71 Indo-Pak war in the Rajasthan sector. (some of you may have seen the movie BORDER or know about the battle of Longewala - this is one of the many battles of this sector).

 

We did the design conceptualization and the army built it in a record 8 months! The KONARK WAR MEMORIAL (as its called) was inaugurated on the 26th of February. I have attached some photographs of the monument. It is the largest war memorial in independent India.

 

The memorial has three parts;

• The Plaza at the front (on ground level) which has panels depicting the various battles fought, the people, the details and information of the various battalions and regiments;

• The Ramp  which takes you from ground zero to the top of the hill (time for you t0 let the battle information sink in and make you think of the people involved )

• the Memorial Main which has the details as shown with  a central column where the wreath is placed.

If you do go to Jodhpur, do visit and send me your comments and views. It is right next to the Umaid Bhavan Palace at the northern entrance to the cantonment area (in fact you can see the Umaid Bhavan in one of the photos). The next edition of the Jodhpur city and tourist maps will have the exact information.

Regards,
 

Amit. (amitmed@satyam.net.in)