Grieving husband commissions famous toy maker to create life-sized statue of his late wife

A widower from India decided to commission a statue of his wife after losing her to a fatal car crash in 2017 which also injured their two daughters. Srinivasa Gupta, 57, wanted to immortalise his wife by having the statue made and placed in a bungalow he had built in honour of his wife, Madhavi Gupta. He said she had always dreamed and talked about a bungalow before her death.

The still grieving husband had started constructing the bungalow a year after his wife passed away to turn her dream into reality. The bungalow now stands in Koppal, Karnataka along with his statue wife "living" her dream.

In an article on The News Minute, Srinivasa is said to be a businessman who was into exporting hair. Prior to the making of Madhavi's statue, he was on a business trip to Gadag where one of his vendors spoke of an architect named Mahesh Rangannadavaru.

Mahesh suggested the idea of a silicone life-sized figure of his wife that could be made by Gombe Mane, the famous toy makers of Bengaluru City. He also told Srinivasa that her statue would be best placed in the foyer of the new bungalow he had built. He placed his order with Gombe Mane over a year ago and upon seeing her, expressed how it bears a striking resemblance to his late wife.

"Mahesh told me that Gombe Mane had also done some work for Tontadarya Mutt in Gadag. I don't regret it at all. This is the kind of gesture I was looking for. I placed the order about a year ago. I gave them several pictures of my wife. She looks so real," Srinivasa said in awe.

Madhavi's bungalow was completed earlier in July and on August 8, Srinivasa welcomed friends and relatives to celebrate with the housewarming. He had told them of a surprise he was eager to share.
"Everyone was so surprised. They all believed for a few seconds that it could actually be my wife. It was my wife's dream to construct a bungalow. Now she is not there to live in it. The statue is a way to reinforce that she is still here," the excited husband said.