On 18 June 2004, CERN unveiled an unusual new landmark: a 2-metre-tall statue of Lord Shiva in his Nataraja form. The statue was a gift from India, celebrating CERN's long association with the country dating back to the 1960s, unveiled by Director General Dr Robert Aymar alongside Indian officials including Dr Anil Kakodkar, Chairman of India's Atomic Energy Commission.
The Nataraja form symbolizes Shakti, or life force - a plaque beside the statue explains the belief that Lord Shiva danced the universe into existence, sustains its motion, and will eventually bring it to an end. Astronomer Carl Sagan famously drew a metaphor between this cosmic dance and the modern scientific study of the 'cosmic dance' of subatomic particles - a connection that resonates deeply at CERN, a leading centre for particle physics research.
The statue was cast in India using traditional lost-wax casting, where an original wax model was encased in a soil mould, then melted away and replaced with molten metal before the mould was split open and the statue polished to its antique finish. It remains on permanent display in the square between CERN's buildings 39 and 40.