Towering Statue Honors Diminutive Indian Leader
India's most populous state — with 180 million people — has a chief minister known for large gestures. Though Mayawati is just 5 feet tall, a new statue erected in her honor was 12 feet tall. But nearby statues of other leaders towered over hers so, at a cost of almost a million dollars, Mayawati's statue grew 3 feet.
RENEE MONTAGNE, host:
Good morning, I'm Renee Montagne. India's most populous state, with 180 million people, has a chief minister known for large gestures. Though she's just five feet tall, a new statue erected in Mayawati's honor was 12 feet tall - not big enough, though, for the larger-than-life leader. Nearby statues of other leaders towered over hers so, at a cost of almost a million dollars, Mayawati's statue grew three feet and now sees eye-to-eye with the others. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.
