A Kerala-based businessman, who brought football legend Diego Maradona to the state in 2012, has announced his plan to build a museum comprising a golden sculpture of the all-time great and other memorabilia related to him.
Chairman of the Chemmanur group Bobby Chemmanur said the exact location of the museum was not decided but it will be either in Kolkata or in a city in Kerala. “It will be named “Hand of Gold”, depicting the crucial goal he scored in the 1986 World Cup. It will showcase his professional and personal life. Gold sculpture will be the main attraction,” he said in Kochi on Monday.
The proposed museum will be a blend of traditional art and modern technology, he added.
“The museum will be best of its kind. It is my tribute to the all-time great. It will be a storehouse of information about him. We have already started collecting memorabilia related to him,” said Chemmanur. He said curator of the museum will be artist-writer Bony Thomas, a founder trustee of the Kochi Biennale Foundation.
Recalling his long friendship with Maradona, Chemmanur said once he gifted a miniature gold statue of the football legend who while accepting it with a broad grin expressed his desire to see a life-size gold sculpture related to his “hand of gold” posture. “I find it is my duty to fulfil his wish,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Recalling his long friendship with Maradona, Chemmanur said once he gifted a miniature gold statue of the football legend who while accepting it with a broad grin expressed his desire to see a life-size gold sculpture related to his “hand of gold” posture. “I find it is my duty to fulfil his wish,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Kerala’s love for the soccer great was well known. The state had observed two-day mourning when he died on November 24 in Buenos Aires at the age of 60. In north Kerala the soccer crazy fans took to the grounds in his favourite jersey No 10 and some of them broke down while talking about the all-time great. They had organised many mini-matches and gatherings.
Maradona had visited the state in 2012 and celebrated his 52 birthday in north Kerala’s Kannur. He cut a 25-kg football-shaped cake, sang and danced and kicked many balls to galleries for the ecstatic fans.