Final decision on Ram Lalla idol to be taken this month

Lucknow, Oct 4 (IANS) A final decision on the Ram Lalla idol will be taken by the trustees of the Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirath Kshetra Trust in its meeting scheduled this month.

During the meeting on October 7 and 8, the Trust select one of the three idols which will be placed in the sanctum-sanctorum of the Ram temple.

Champat Rai, general secretary of the Trust, has informed all 15-members about the meeting under the chairmanship of Mahant Nritya Gopal Das to select one 51-inch idol out of the three that are under final stages of completion in Ayodhya.

The Board of Trustees will also decide the place in the temple where the remaining two idols of the Ram Lalla will be placed.

Three renowned sculptors have been given the task to chisel as many idols of Ram Lalla (showing the Lord as a child) and the best of three will be selected to be placed at the temple’s sanctum-sanctorum in a grand ceremony proposed after Makar Sankranti in January 2024.

Ganesh Bhatt of Karnataka is carving 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.

Famous sculptor Arun Yogiraj of Mysuru is carving out the idol from another rock sourced from Karnataka.

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 Mysuru palace artists.

Arun Yogiraj had also sculpted the 28-ft-tall black granite statue of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose that is placed at India Gate.

The Prime Minister had unveiled the statue in September last year.

Satya Narain Pandey of Rajasthan is chiselling the idol from white Makrana marble stones.

Ram Lalla’s idol is based on the sketch of renowned Mumbai-based artist Vasudeo Kamath. He had presented pencil-made sketches of Ram Lalla to the Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirath Kshetra Trust.

Born in Karkala, a non-descript town in Karnataka, Kamath grew up in Mumbai. His 28 paintings that form his Ramayan series are globally acclaimed.

Kamath is known for his paintings based on mythology and historical subjects.

He still practices the rare art of creating portraits from actual sittings.