Much water has flown down the Cauvery

BANGALORE: Eighteen years after it was installed, the statue of Tamil saint-poet Thiruvalluvar was finally unveiled on Sunday with Bangalore ignoring calls for a shutdown from pro-Kannada outfits opposed to the statue.

Tamil Nadu and Karnataka chief ministers M Karunanidhi and B S Yeddyurappa pressed a button to uncover the bronze statue of the author of the Tamil classic ���Thirukkural��� near Halasur Lake in the central business district. The area is largely populated by Tamil speakers.

Bangalore police deployed over 3,000 personnel in and around the venue as several pro-Kannada organisations had threatened protests against the unveiling saying Tamil Nadu had not been fair to Karnataka over Cauvery river waters sharing, among other inter-state issues.

Police had detained around 400 pro-Kannada activists on Friday and Saturday to prevent possible disruption of the function.

Life was normal in Bangalore, with commercial establishments open and state-run buses as well as private vehicles plying on the roads.

Kannada activists had stalled the unveiling of the statue for 18 long years, contending they would allow it only if Tamil Nadu does not deprive Karnataka of its share of Cauvery waters.

At the function attended by ministers and political leaders of two states, Mr Karunanidhi hailed Mr Yeddyurappa���s initiative in enabling the unveiling of the statue.

���During the last 18 years I used to tell anyone inviting me to Bangalore that I will go there only if the statute was to be unveiled. Today, Yeddyurappa (67), whom he described as younger brother, has helped me realise the pledge,��� 86-year-old Karunanidhi, himself a distinguished litterateur, told the gathering.

He said the unveiling of the two statues was not a mere function but the opening of India���s heart and a model in good brotherly relations between states for others to follow.

Responding warmly to Mr Karunanidhi���s overtures, Mr Yeddyurappa said: ���Today is a historic day in the annals of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Our relations will certainly improve hereafter. Let people of both states live together and move forward together. We are all sons of Bharat Mata. We are Indians first and Kannadigas and Tamils next���, he asserted, denouncing protests from pro-Kannada outfits as ���unwarranted���.

Thiruvalluvar, believed to be born 30 years before Jesus Christ, wrote ���Thirukkural��� in the form of couplets (two line poems) expounding various aspects of life.

Reciprocating Karnataka���s gesture to install Thiruvalluvar���s statue, Tamil Nadu government is installing the statue of Kannada saint-poet Sarvajna in Chennai on August 13.

Sarvajna, believed to belong to the 18th century, is known for his ���Tripadis��� (three-line poems) on life, religion, beliefs and problems of daily living.