Woman Takes Over Living Gold Statue Performance in Connaught Place
A woman performing under the name Sheela has taken up street performance as a living statue near Charkha Park in G Block, Connaught Place, stepping into the role to support her family after her husband fell ill.
Sheela, who dresses in a gold salwar-kameez with her face and exposed skin painted gold alongside matching props, is Delhi's first woman to take up the performance act. The living statue concept first emerged in Connaught Place shortly before the Covid-19 pandemic, with two or three men regularly standing motionless beside donation boxes as passersby take photographs and leave money. Sheela recently reached her 15th day of performing at the subway staircase site.
Prior to taking up the work, Sheela had never been employed outside her household, having spent her married life managing the family's single-room residence in Uttam Nagar. Her husband had previously worked as a building contractor before suffering major financial losses that left the family indebted to lenders. He then took up the gold statue performance in Connaught Place, but an illness eventually made it impossible for him to stand motionless for long durations.
Although her husband continues to undergo medical treatment and can no longer perform, he accompanies Sheela to Connaught Place every day. Sheela adopted the name Sheela for her performance, while keeping a different name on her Aadhaar card.
Her daily routine begins at 5:30 a.m. with cooking breakfast, bathing her children, and preparing the household. The family leaves their home around 10:30 a.m., travels by Delhi Metro, and arrives in Connaught Place around noon. Sheela brings along her three youngest children, who do not attend school. The family remains at the location until 8 p.m. before taking the Metro back to Uttam Nagar, where Sheela prepares dinner.
Sheela explained that she continues the work despite occasional unpleasant comments from male passersby, focusing on providing for her four children during a difficult period marked by the death of her mother a month earlier.
