Mangaluru: Travellers departing from Mangaluru International Airport will now be greeted by a striking 10.25-foot granite statue of Yakshagana, unveiled on Friday. The installation is the latest addition to the airport’s efforts to highlight Karnataka’s folk traditions.

Perched on a three-foot pedestal and weighing nearly four tonnes, the statue captures a serene expression of a Yakshagana performer, symbolising the grandeur of the coastal theatre art.

The work was executed by Himanshu Kumar, 38, a sculptor originally from Bihar who has embraced coastal Karnataka’s culture as his own. Through his studio, Akrathi Shilpa Kala, he and his team completed the project in just over two months.

The unveiling builds on the airport’s initiative to incorporate cultural motifs in passenger areas. Features already in place include a lenticular wall of Bunder harbour, a figurine of a fisherman, pili vesha (tiger dance) characters, Yakshagana miniatures, and kambala depictions.

Airport authorities said the addition would provide passengers an immersive glimpse into the state’s folk traditions while enhancing the visual identity of the terminal.