On Tuesday, Union Minister for Mines, Coal, Law, and Parliamentary Affairs, Pralhad Joshi, confirmed that the Ram Lalla idol sculpted by Karnataka artist Arun Yogiraj has been finalised for installation at the Ayodhya Sri Ram Mandir on January 22.
Taking to social media, Joshi stated, "The statue for the Prana Prathistapana of Sri Ram at Ayodhya has been finalised. The statue, sculpted by renowned artist from our land (Karnataka), our pride Arun Yogiraj, is going to be installed at Ayodhya. It is also a standing example of the cherished relationship between Lord Hanuman and Lord Ram. It won't be wrong to say that this is a great service to Ram Lalla from Karnataka, which is regarded as the land of Lord Hanuman."
Karnataka BJP State President BY Vijayendra and MLA S Suresh Kumar have also congratulated sculptor Arun Yogiraj and expressed their happiness over the development.
Meanwhile, workers of the Karnataka Congress party visited Arun Yogiraj's residence in Mysuru city and felicitated his family members following the development on Tuesday.
Congress MLA Harish Gowda, former MLA MK Somashekar, leader Dr. Sushruth Gowda, and party workers felicitated Arun Yogiraj's wife Vijetha and mother Saraswathi.
His mother expressed happiness and stated that she wished that Arun Yogiraj's father had been alive to see this achievement of his son.
Arun Yogiraj had completed the idol of Ram Lalla and handed it over to the Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust last week. Arun had taken six months to create the Ram Lalla idol. He stayed in Ayodhya for the entire period and worked for 12 to 14 hours a day.
Arun Yogiraj has told the media that the task was to sculpt a 51-inch-tall Lord Ram at the age of five years.
"I had studied and researched to get the best portrait of Ram Lalla. I went to schools, participated in children's festivals, and programs. During my visits, I closely observed the difference between three-year-old and five-year-old boys. The challenge was to create an idol that would appeal to both south and north India. Finally, I sculpted Lord Ram holding a bow and arrow," he stated.
"I had selected the granite taken from Bachche Gowdana Pura near HD Kote town in Mysuru district of Karnataka for the idol. The statue is 51 inches tall and 3.5 feet wide. I was asked to bring out emotions such as innocence in the eyes of a child, a blissful, majestic look, and a smile," he explained.
The trust had also asked GL Bhat, a sculptor from Bengaluru, and Satyanarayana Pande, a sculptor from Rajasthan to sculpt the idol of Ram Lalla.
(With inputs from IANS)
