Manbringsbacklatewifeto‘life’intheirdreamhome

When guests came in for the housewarming ceremony of Karnataka industrialist Shrinivas Gupta in Koppala district, they were stunned to see his deceased wife Madhavi ‘live’ on a well-decorated stage.

For company, Gupta sat by her side on a sofa and the couple were flanked by their daughters.

Madhavi had died three years ago. It took some time for guests to realise that the smiling Madhavi, dressed in stunning pink silk saree, with flowers flowing from her hair and with ornaments round her neck, was a life-size silicon statue of hers.

Madhavi had died in a car accident even as she was planning and supervising her dream home. Now she can live forever in her dream home, said Gupta.

"It is a great feeling to have my wife again at my home; this was her dream home. The house was designed as per her wishes and she alone was monitoring the progress of the construction of the house," Gupta told his guests.

Gupta and his daughters then decided to bring her back to ‘life’ through a look-alike statue.

"Artist Shreedhar Murthy from

Bengaluru took a year to make the statue. Silicone was used instead of wax for durability. The statue was built inside the house with the help of their architect Ranghannanavar,” Gupta said.

Silicone was selected over wax because Koppala gets terribly hot during summers.

Madhavi shall remain a permanent resident of the house, smiling as generations go by. As Keats said in his Ode on a Grecian Urn: She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss…..Thou, silent form, dost tease us out of thought. As doth eternity.

The Madhavi that adorned the stage cannot walk or talk, but the guests were left absolutely speechless.