This show simply rocks

Carved to charm

With its dazzling range of artefacts on stones that will simply freeze you, Stona-2012 is back with a bang to rock Bangalore.

Organised once in two years, the four-day global event of professionals in the stone industry kicked off at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre on Tumkur Road on Wednesday.

If Basha’s Evershine Group gives you ideas about how a small space in the courtyard can be designed using granite rock in an attractive way, the neighbouring stall of Amman Granite mesmerises with a 12-foot-tall fountain, with water flowing out of the mouths of 10 black granite dolphins. Cost of the fountain? Rs 25 lakh.

“Our 25 artists took six months to create this fountain, which is divided into four sections,” said an executive of Amman Granite.

The expression ‘Cradle to Grave’ finds literal manifestation at the fair, which offers products from designer cradles with granite pillars to trendy tombs.

Painter in sculptor

If the various artefacts showcase the imagination of the chiselers, there are well-polished simple granite and marble slabs portraying nature as painter par excellence.

Two artists - Mahendra Sharma and Dharmendra Sharma - from Jaipur know what sells like hot-cakes in Bangalore.

The duo from Rajaram Moorti Bhandar have Bangalore lass Deepika Padukone as their ‘Brand Ambassador’.

They picked Markana Marble to recreate the Bollywood actress in stone. The intricately-carved idol can overwhelm onlookers and has the potential to envy the exhibits at Madame Tussauds Art Gallery in London.

“With the help of a picture of Deepika Padukone, we brought out her persona on marble in a traditional way,” said Mahendra.

S R Kumar of Gem Granites gives reasons why Bangalore is suitable for Stona.
“Bangalore is surrounded with deposits of a wide range of granite rocks. There are about 300 types of granite, but only 75 varieties are popular and are considered the best,” said Kumar.

If Chamarajnagar Black Granite is considered hard rock, Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh, not far from Bangalore, offers a wide range of granite rocks.

Kanakapura offers multi-colour granite, which can be used for making artistic columns and beams. Ilkal Granite is known worldwide for its red colour.