Three sculptors to carve out Ram Lalla idol, Trust to select best for installation

RAM LALLA’S IDOL WILL BE BASED ON THE SKETCH OF INTERNATIONALLYACCLAIMED ARTIST VASUDEO KAMATH.

Three renowned sculptors will chisel Ram Lalla’s idol and the best will be selected to be enthroned at the temple’s sanctum-sanctorum in a grand ceremony proposed on Makar Sankrantri in January 2024.

Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirath Kshetra Trust has roped in three best sculptors of the country to carve out the idol from three different rocks. Ganesh Bhatt of Karnataka will carve out the idol from Nellikaru rocks (black stones) which are also known as Shyam shila or Krishna shila due to resemblance of their colour with Lord Krishna.

Satya Narayan Pandey of Rajasthan will chisel the idol from white Makrana marble stones. Famous sculptor Arun Yogiraj of Mysore will carve out the idol from another rock sourced from Karnataka.

Arun Yogiraj had also carved out a 12-ft statue of Adi Shankaracharya in Kedarnath that was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year. He is the son of famous sculptor Yogiraj Shilpi, and hails from a family of Mysore palace artists. Arun also sculpted the 28-ft-tall black granite statue of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose that is placed at India Gate. The PM had unveiled the statue in September last year.

Ram Lalla’s idol will be based on the sketch of internationallyacclaimed artist Vasudeo Kamath. Born in Karkala in Karnataka, Kamath grew up in Mumbai. His 28 paintings that form his Ramayan series were acclaimed across the world, said Dr Anil Mishra, member of the Trust.

Kamath is known for his paintings based on mythology and historical subjects. He practices the rare art of creating portraits from actual sittings.

However, the Trust has ruled out Nepal rocks for Ram Lalla’s idol. Two Devshila (rocks) were taken to Ayodhya from the Himalayan Kingdom of Nepal on January 2 this year. These were 14-tonne calcite and 26-tonne quarzite rocks procured from Nepal’s Gandaki river in the Muktinath area of the Himalayan nation. According to a member of the Trust, during trial rocks from Nepal had developed cracks so it was decided not to use them for the deity’s idol.

The Trust has planned a grand ceremony on Makar Sankranti in January 2024 when Ram Lalla’s standing idol, depicting the childhood of the deity, will be enthroned at sanctum -sanctorum of Ram temple in Ayodhya.