Thursday, November 1, 2007

‘Mahaganitham’ is a sculpture commemorating the huge Mahagony tree that stood in front of the Cutcherry Malika. This huge tree, like other trees on the campus, played a vital role in the making of the unique heritage of U.C. College. The tree was struck by lightning in 2002. The remnants of this great tree stand as ‘Mahaganitham’ near its original position. ‘Mahaganitham’ represents the historic Mahagony tree and ‘Ganitham’, Mathematics, the queen of all sciences. Aesthetic concepts like Golden ratio, Fibonacci series etc. are used in the design. More than a thousand mathematical entities and geometrical shapes are engraved in the sculpture. The five Platonic bodies - tetrahedron, hexahedron, octahedron, dodecahedron and icosahedron - are present in it. Moreover, an attempt has been made to impart certain ethical messages through different mathematical models. An old iron bell, used during the early period of the college, is a part of the sculpture. It reminds us to make the best use of precious opportunities available on the campus. The copper and brass frame strengthens the structure (our relationships too!). The work was crafted by the artist Mr. PV. Ramachandran and the mathematical part was conceived by Dr. Sunny Kuriakose, Department of Mathematics.

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