Three sculptures in contest for selection as Ram Lalla idol ready

On the eve of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Ayodhya, the Trust members on Friday inspected the idols and conveyed their suggestions to Trust secretary Champat Rai and treasurer Govind Giri Maharaj who will take the final decision.

While making the suggestions, the trustees were asked to go into the intricacies and other fine details in the sculpting process, sources said.

The three sculptors working on the idol designs are Ganesh Bhatt and Arun Yogiraj from Karnataka and Satyanarayan Pandey from Jaipur in Rajasthan. Bhatt is said to be working on “black-greyish Nellikari rock” (shyam shilla) extracted from Karnataka, Yogiraj on a “white grey” semi-granite rock, while Pandey worked on the famous white Makrana marble stone.

“It will be a standing statue that will be 51 inches in height. The trust members were called today to check the idols,” said a senior member of the Trust.

“The design that will best depict the facial expressions, innocence, and physical features as well as divinity of the five-year-old deity will be selected,” Champat Rai had said recently.

The existing Ram Lalla idol made of metal which has been worshipped for decades will be used for performing puja rituals while the new one will remain stationary, sources said.

“A decision is also to be taken on the remaining two idols as to whether they will be donated or placed somewhere else. According to the tradition, more than one idol of the same deity is not placed usually in a temple,” said an expert involved in the project.

The sculptors

Bengaluru-based Ganesh Bhatt is an award-winning sculptor whose idols have been placed not just across the country but also abroad. He is a disciple of Devalakunda Vaidiraj, a famous sculptor, it is learnt.

Arun Yogiraj comes from a family of famous sculptors of Mysuru (Karnataka) for five generations some of whom worked for the Mysore royal family. He is known for having carved a 30-foot statue of Subhas Chandra Bose, which is placed in the canopy behind Amar Jawan Jyoti near India Gate in New Delhi, and a 12-foot tall statue of Adi Shankaracharya in Uttarakhand’s Kedarnath.

His work has also been appreciated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Satyanarayan Pandey also comes from a family of sculptors and has carved idols for ISKCON and Birla temples in the past.