The memorial dedicated to Shiv Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray is all set to open to the public in December, reported HindustanTimes. Built over the estate of the erstwhile Mumbai mayor's bungalow along with three other structures at Shivaji Park in Dadar, the memorial will be spread across 6,056.82 sqm of land. It is being built at a cost of Rs 180 crore.

Unlike many other memorials seen across the world, there will not be any tall statues or structures.

“When you enter the garden, you walk towards a garbakund, open to the sky. It is almost like a ‘kund’ - the sanctum sanctorum. This centre is far from the heritage building to minimise the impact on the heritage structure,” a source close to the development of the project told HT.

The memorial is designed in a way to highlight Thackeray's reputation as the son of the soil.

“He was ‘dharti putra’ and so the building is connected to the ground -- partially underground and partially over the ground. It is less than 4 feet in height due to its heritage status,” the source added. He added that the memorial was built as to not be pretentious but to commemorate the life, political views and career, and ideology of the man while also containing an archive for future studies and research into Thackeray’s life.

Apart from the mayoral bungalow, the servant’s quarter will be turned into an artistic retreat, to pay tribute to Thackeray’s artistic inclinations with plans for art workshops. Other structures like the staff building have been converted into offices with public conveniences like a public toilet.

The project has been designed by conservation architect Abha Narain Lambah & Associates, who was chosen after a design contest for the memorial.

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(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)