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Apoorva Devanshi
Guest
The Pran-Pratishtha of Ram Mandir is around the corner, that is, 22nd January. Ahead of this much anticipated event let’s take a look at who is the sculptor of the Ram Idol. Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust, which is overseeing the temple construction, made an official announcement. It announced that an idol carved by the renowned sculptor of Karnataka Arun Yogiraj will be kept inside the grand Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. The selection of the idol was done on vote of count basis from the three shortlisted designs. The idol of Ram Lalla carved by Arun Yogiraj was selected and will be revealed to the public on 17th January.
Arun Yogiraj, belongs to a family which has over five generations of famous sculptors in Mysore. Arun’s father, is also a skilled sculptor. The kings of Mysore patronized his grandfather, Basavanna Shilpi. Arun Yogiraj, who hails from such a family learnt sculpting at an early age of just 11years old. Though he pursued his MBA and worked for some time in a private company. But he could not escape from his calling for sculpting. Thus, in 2008 he returned to his family business and has continued his career in sculpting and carving.
He is currently the most sought-after sculptor in the country and has worked on several high level projects. The recent one being the the installation of his 30-foot-tall and 280 ton black granite statue of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose at India Gate. Prior to this, Arun Yogiraj had sculpted a 12-foot-tall statue of Adi Shankaracharya. The 21-foot-tall Hanuman statue located in the Mysore district at Chunchanakatte. Under his care, a stunning stone statue of Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar-IV and numerous other idols have flourished.
Awards and recognition received-
For the idol of Ram Lalla he said that he started working on it six- seven months back. A lot of stones were considered but finally he chose Krishna Shila stone from Bujjeogauda district in Mysore to sculpt the 51 inch tall idol of Ram Lalla. He said he made the choice considering the stones unique quality of being relatively less reactive to water. Then because of its soft texture (composed of mostly lac) it is easier to carve on it. Another unique quality of the stone is that when it is mined from quarries it is soft but it hardens after 2-3 years.
Then in order to sculpt the face of Ram Lalla which reflects the childlike innocence and at the same time the divinity of Shri Ram. He said that he studied around 1200 faces of children aged 5 years old. Finally he envisioned a face and started giving it form. He is happy now that the work is done and believes that when people will like it only then he will be satisfied.
The post The Man Behind Sculpting The Divine Form: Arun Yogiraj appeared first on The Jaipur Dialogues.
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Who is Arun Yogiraj?
Arun Yogiraj, belongs to a family which has over five generations of famous sculptors in Mysore. Arun’s father, is also a skilled sculptor. The kings of Mysore patronized his grandfather, Basavanna Shilpi. Arun Yogiraj, who hails from such a family learnt sculpting at an early age of just 11years old. Though he pursued his MBA and worked for some time in a private company. But he could not escape from his calling for sculpting. Thus, in 2008 he returned to his family business and has continued his career in sculpting and carving.
He is currently the most sought-after sculptor in the country and has worked on several high level projects. The recent one being the the installation of his 30-foot-tall and 280 ton black granite statue of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose at India Gate. Prior to this, Arun Yogiraj had sculpted a 12-foot-tall statue of Adi Shankaracharya. The 21-foot-tall Hanuman statue located in the Mysore district at Chunchanakatte. Under his care, a stunning stone statue of Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar-IV and numerous other idols have flourished.
Awards and recognition received-
- Was appreciated by Kofi Annan, Former Secretary-General of United Nations Organization.
- Nalwadi award 2020 by Mysore District Administration.
- Honorary membership by The Crafts council of Karnataka 2021.
- South Zone Young Talented Artist award by Government of India in 2014.
- Shilpa Kousthubha by Sculptors Association.
- Rajyothsava award by Mysuru District Authority etc.
Envisioning Ram Lalla-
For the idol of Ram Lalla he said that he started working on it six- seven months back. A lot of stones were considered but finally he chose Krishna Shila stone from Bujjeogauda district in Mysore to sculpt the 51 inch tall idol of Ram Lalla. He said he made the choice considering the stones unique quality of being relatively less reactive to water. Then because of its soft texture (composed of mostly lac) it is easier to carve on it. Another unique quality of the stone is that when it is mined from quarries it is soft but it hardens after 2-3 years.
Then in order to sculpt the face of Ram Lalla which reflects the childlike innocence and at the same time the divinity of Shri Ram. He said that he studied around 1200 faces of children aged 5 years old. Finally he envisioned a face and started giving it form. He is happy now that the work is done and believes that when people will like it only then he will be satisfied.
The post The Man Behind Sculpting The Divine Form: Arun Yogiraj appeared first on The Jaipur Dialogues.
Continue reading...