He was 85 years and is survived by his wife and his adopted son. Ganapaty has not been keeping well for some time now, sources close to his family told ‘Deccan Herald’.
Awarded the ‘Padma Bhushan’ in 2009, Ganapaty Sthapathy, born into a traditional sculptor’s family in Pillaiyarpatti village in Tamil Nadu’s Sivaganga district in 1927, had been the chief architect and overseer of several monuments and temples within the country and abroad, including in the USA, Fiji Island and Hawaii.
Some of his noted architectural achievements included the 133-feet tall Saint-poet Thiruvalluvar on a sea-rock off Kanniyakumari down South, the ‘Valluvar Kottam’ in Chennai, Tamil University in Thanjavur’ and the sculptures at ‘Poompuhar’ in composite Thanjavur district.
Published 06 September 2011, 18:53 IST