Credit: Special arrangement
A Bengalurean has created an artwork that will be taken to Ayodhya and unveiled at the Ram temple in the last week of December.
Artist Jayashree Phaneesh said the Rama artwork, plated with gold leaf sheets and studded with rubies, emeralds, corals, pearls, and diamonds, was funded by her family. Inspired by the Thanjavur painting style, it is set in a rosewood frame measuring 10 feet high, 6 feet wide and 2.5 feet deep.
Since receiving a confirmation letter from the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra on December 11, accepting her offering, Jayashree’s home in Rajajinagar has seen a steady stream of visitors seeking a glimpse of the artwork. When Metrolife visited her on Monday evening, a woman and her daughter-in-law had stopped by for a brief “darshan”.
A homemaker and hobbyist artist, Jayashree specialises in Thanjavur paintings. Over the past decade, the 50-year-old has donated 10 of her works to various temples. It was while presenting a painting at a temple in Doddamagge village in Hassan district that she first expressed the desire to create an artwork of Bala Rama (child Rama), the central deity at the Ayodhya temple.
Soon after, a group, including entrepreneur G K Pramod from Bengaluru, contacted the temple authorities. The artwork took Jayashree 2,800 hours over nine months to complete.
She began with a thermocol structure, layered it with clay, and finished it with gold leaf sheets. In the artwork, Rama is accompanied by depictions of Hanuman, Garuda and the Dashavatara.
This was Jayashree’s first attempt at “idol-like” artwork. Sculpting the face was the most challenging part and took five days. Her husband, orthopaedic surgeon Dr Phaneesha M S, contributed his anatomical expertise. “I gave inputs on the proportions of the arms, forearms and legs, and the placement of joints. I even sculpted the feet,” he said.
Even before the formal acceptance, groups gathered at her house to sing bhajans and dance to devotional compositions. According to Dr Phaneesha, about 25,000 people have visited their home over the past 50 days. The artwork viewing has now been closed.
The couple said once the artwork is moved out, they will miss the “lively atmosphere” it brought into their home. They are looking forward to travelling to Ayodhya for the unveiling.