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Upendra Pai Memorial
A grandiose monument located at the roundabout on Endpoint Road in Manipal (on the west coast of India) dedicated to the co-founder of Syndicate Bank--one of India’s largest state-owned banking enterprises. This 27-feet tall structure having aesthetically carved stone coins mounted on top of one another is the most stunning pieces of public art in India and is a landmark at the university town of Manipal (also referred as the print capital of the nation).

The Memorial was dedicated to the people of Manipal on 25th February 2018 by Sh. Pramodh Madhvaraj.

About Upendra Pai
Born on Nov. 26, 1895, he was the first person of the renowned Tonse-Pai family to have moved to the barren land of Mannu-palla (Manipal of today) and started working towards developing it though his sheer hard work and entrepreneurial spirit. His greatest contribution to the social upliftment was the establishment of Syndicate Bank. Upendra’s concern and sympathy for the handloom weavers led to the formation of this joint stock bank—the Canara Industrial and Banking Syndicate Ltd.

Upendra Pai also enjoyed construction work. In his entourage were few carpenters and masons. He believed in using local material—a part of his philosophy of self-help. He was always full of novel and practical ideas, and anyone who had skill in building or was willing to work on a construction job could count on his generous help. He undertook several construction projects to provide employment and rallied tirelessly to improve public infrastructure. His unwavering commitment to social causes earned him the title- “a one-man public works department”.

Upendra also had a love for the arts, and that’s when he built Ramakrishna Theatre in 1932, the first theatre in Udupi.

Sh. Upendra Pai was the father of Sh. T. A. Pai who was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1972 and was appointed the Union Minister for Railways.

About the Memorial
The installation has been commissioned by Gautham Pai to honour and perpetuate the memory of his grandfather, Upendra Pai, for having contributed so generously in building Manipal (during his short lifetime). The business enterprise lead by Gautham Pai collaborated with globally acclaimed contemporary artist L.N. Tallur, who hails from Coastal Karnataka and is renowned for his use of indigenous material. Referred to as ‘Coinage’ by Tallur, the memorial symbolises trustworthiness, visions and dreams of Sh. Upendra Pai.

The memorial has been created using rare milling technology making use of Robotics. The seven stones were carefully machine-crafted and placed one top of each other. It reaches a fair height of 27 feet and weighs a massive 6.5 tonnes. The stones used for this structure were sourced from different parts of the country- pink sandstone from Rajasthan, Mahabalipuram stone, Yercaud blue stone, Turkey marble, Karkala ‘Silekallu’, and Kadappa black stone from Bengaluru.

In addition to paying rich tribute to Sh. Upendra Pai, the memorial is also intended at providing a stunning piece of public art to the people of Manipal and is dedicated to their enterprising spirit.

‘Coinage’ is also the first public monument of LN Tallur in India.

Sculptural features-- The making and meaning of ‘Coinage’
The memorial is an assortment of 7 coins of different dimensions which have been milled using latest Robotics technology and placed on top of each other through a meticulously planned 2-day operations at Manipal by Manipal Energy and Infratech Limited. It was an art in itself to create a base which is structurally robust to bear the weight of these coins and also make it withstand the vagaries of coastal climate.

The Hollow coin at the pinnacle has the Sun on one side and moon on the other, symbolizing eternity. The coins of these type, with the hole in a middle were rampant as 1 Pice coins during 1940s.

The second coin from the top is a milled coin with the RBI logo of the tiger on one side. The other side is a Alupa coin (Alupa dynasty or Alva dynasty were the oldest native rulers of Tulunadu) showing the crop of this region--- paddy.

Shaped like 3-paisa coin, this coin bears image of a Fishermen on canoe catching fish. This coin was launched in 1986 to promote, develop, and commemorate those in the fisheries industry. The other side shows a bull and agricultural equipment.

A simple rounded coin the 4th from the top has smooth edges and was introduced in 2010 to commemorate 150 years of Income tax department and has the profile of Chanakya on one side. The other side represents Mahatma Gandhi who visited Udupi in 1934 when the struggle for freedom was at its peak.

Similar to 5-paisa coin the 5th coin from top, shows cowry shells and pingara, the Fertile Tender areca flower. The opposite side of this coin shows characteristic, peculiarly designed Roof tiles of Mangalore region, a Bharatnatyam dance ‘linga’ mudra and the year 1941—when the Manipal Technologies Limited was incorporated by Upendra Pai.

The 6th coin from the top represents the ‘double fish’ Royal emblem of Alupa dynasty on one side. Alupas put coins into circulation in 8th century CE and continued the tradition till 14th century CE. The other side represents the legends of one of the greatest empires of southern India—Vijayanagara and has dhana written in Kannada.

The base coin is the present-day one-rupee coin with the Lion Capital of Ashoka on one side, and the numeral 1 on the other.