Astronaut Sunita Williams' Wax Statue Unveiled At Asansol Museum

Asansol: Asansol sculptor Sushanta Roy has carved probably the world's first wax statue of American astronaut and retired US Navy officer, Sunita Williams.

The statue was unveiled on Sunday by state minister Moloy Ghatak in the presence of West Burdwan District Magistrate S Ponnavalam and other dignitaries. Roy said the clothes for the statue were brought from the USA for detailing of the statue.

Roy's wax museum is a wonder in Asansol. He has also made a statue for the Mother Wax Museum in Kolkata. Even the wax museum in Jaipur has a statue carved by Roy.

Roy's wax museum in Asansol has statues of stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Sushant Singh Rajput, Soumitra Chatterjee, Uttam Kumar, Suchitra Sen, Shahrukh Khan, Lata Mangeshkar, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Mamata Banerjee and other national and international players and personalities.

Roy said it took him around a month-and-a-half to make the statue of Williams. "But the statue could not be inaugurated as I did not have the appropriate clothes. I contacted NASA but in vain. I then bought clothes from the USA with the help of a friend there," he said.

Ponnambalam, who was present at the unveiling of the statue, said, "This is my first time here. It seems like every statue is alive. Roy is not just a household name in West Burdwan, but the entire country."

Roy said Williams came back from space after struggling for nine months. "I have made the statue to commemorate her fight, her struggle. Whenever people come to my wax museum, they will remember Williams," he said.