To introduce Ram V. Sutar, one can simply call him “A lesser-known man with the most exceptional art.” Ram V. Sutar is a 98-year-old sculptor hailing from Gondoor village of Dhuliya district, Maharashtra. Inspired by Sri Ram Krishna Joshi, he took admission in JJ college of arts in Bombay. He started to work as a freelance sculptor.
Later, he shifted to Delhi and started to work in the Information and Broadcasting ministry of the Union Government. He later quit his government job in the year 1959 and became a professional sculptor.
Start of Journey as a sculptor
Influenced by Mahatma Gandhi, he contributed to the re-establishment of the ancient and historical heritage of Indian culture. During 1954-58, he worked on the revival of the carvings of Ajanta Ellora, which were deteriorating for a long time. His capability can be analysed by the fact that he carved the “Chambal Smarak” out of a single rock in Madhya Pradesh.
The former prime Minister, Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru decided to install a 50 feet tall labour statue, as a symbol of respect for the workers of Bhakra-Nangal dam. The responsibility to carve the statue was given to Ram V. Sutar, who fulfilled it successfully.
Bhagwan Vishvakarma is depicted as the god of architecture in Hindu scriptures. And, the contribution and mastery of Ram V. Sutar in creating sculptures has accredited him with the title of “Modern Vishwakarma.”
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His sky touching sculptures
He gained prominence after he carved the “Statue of Unity”, a 182-meter-tall statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in Gujarat. His art was acknowledged globally, when a statue of Mahatma Gandhi carved by him was installed at the UNSC headquarter. Another bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi created by him is installed outside the Vidhan Soudha in Bangalore.
Some of the other important sculptures crafted by him are a 21 feet tall statue of Maharaja Ranjit in Amritsar, the Statue of Karpuri Thakur in Bihar, a 10 feet bronze statue of Govind Vallabh Pant in Delhi and 108 feet tall statue of Kempegowda in Bangalore.
As of now, he is working along with his son Anil Sutar to craft the world’s tallest sculpture of Bhagwan Shri Ram in Ayodhya. He is also working on the sculpture of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar in Maharashtra that are 212 m and 137.2 m tall respectively. He is also crafting a 46.6 m tall sculpture of Bhagwan Shiv in Karnataka.
Shri Ram Janki of Shaligram
In a more recent development that unfolded 2 days ago, Ram V. Sutar has been given the responsibility to carve out Bhagwan Ram and Maa Janaki’s sculpture from the Shaligram rock. The Shaligram rock is procured from Nepal and the sculptures of Shri Ram and Maa Janaki that will be carved out of the stone will be installed in the Ayodhya ‘Ram Mandir’.
This becomes important because Janakpur in Nepal is where Mata Janaki used to stay and the Shaligram ‘shila’ found in the Gandaki river in Nepal represents Bhagwan Vishnu.
Ram V Sutar was awarded the Padma Shri Award in the year 1999. Apart from that, he has also been awarded with Padma Bhushan, the 3rd highest civilian award. He has also been honoured with Tagore culture award and 3 awards by Bombay Arts.
The life of Ram V Sutar is an achievement in itself. His life is hailed as the journey that promoted Indian culture and made the followers of Indian culture feel proud.
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