K'taka link to Ram Mandir Bhoomi Pujan: Idol gifted to PM Modi sculpted by B'luru artisan

Bengaluru: A 3-foot-long wooden idol of Kodanda Rama which was presented to PM Modi during the Bhumi pujan at Ram Mandir in UP’s Ayodhya was sculpted by a city-based artisan. Notably the state had three key links with the historic event, this being one of them.

The artisan Ramamurthy Achar, from Kengeri in Bengaluru is a fifth-generation sculptor. One of his earlier statues is already on display at a museum in Ayodhya.

He began the idol-making work after an official from the Ayodhya Research Centre, Ministry of Culture in the government of Uttar Pradesh called him up and asked for the idols to be made.

The idol presented to PM Modi was made of teak wood. The other two idols he made included a 1.5 ft high Kodanda Rama idol and another one on the twin sons of Lord Ram – Lav and Kush.

Achar spent a few months working on the project at his workshop in Channapatna. He took inspiration from Kakatiya, Chola, Hoysala and Karnataka’s Belur and Halebid styles of sculpting, including Kerala wood carving fashion.

While sculpting the idols, Achar imagined Ram to be a man of around 35-40 years of age.

The other two links which the state has with the Bhumi pujan ceremony is that a Belagavi-based astrologer had determined the mahurat for the event. The third link being that the ‘Raghupati’ laddoos which were distributed as prasad following the ceremony had some of the 20,000 kilograms of ghee which was supplied by the Karnataka Milk Federation.