JOIN USThe artistic creations in granite, marble and other stones left visitors spellbound at the 11th international granites and stone fair—Stona 2014, that began in the City on Wednesday.
The fair has been organised as part of the four-day B2B International Exhibition at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre on Tumkur Road. The highlight of Day One of the exhibition was the 12-foot tall blue granite statue of Sachin Tendulkar and fibre sculpture of superstar Rajnikanth.
The statue instantly attracted large number of people who were seen taking photographs. R Chandrasekaran, Managing Director of RC Golden Granites Private Limited, which created the statue, said: “It is not for sale. The statue will be gifted to Sachin. Three craftsmen created the statue, weighing five tonnes, over 45 days in Visakhapatnam at a cost of Rs 15 lakh.” Last year, the craftsmen had displayed the statue of Michael Jackson in Chennai.
Chandrasekaran added that getting such a huge blue granite stone was very difficult. But when it was found in Visakhapatnam, the 250-member staff at the factory decided to create Sachin’s statue.
Another statue which stole the show was the fibre-made sculpture of Tamil matinee idol Rajnikanth. Manish Bhardwaj of the Jaipur-based Pinkcity Art Sculptural, which created the sculpture, said that the 39-inch statue, weighing 150 kg, was not for sale. “But if there is somebody who is as crazy about him as we are and offers to buy it for a fortune, we’ll think of selling it but not for now,” he added.
Another interesting creation is the huge granite grave displayed at the Amman Granites stall. Although the grave, made of 13 huge granite slabs, made many sad, its beauty was also jaw-dropping. Again, the stone work was not for sale.
Apart from these, there were many beautiful sculptures of deities which enthused the local, national and international visitors. Apart from exhibitors, architects, businessmen, builders, realtors, sculptors and buyers who thronged the place, there was also a rush of casual visitors and art lovers. Many of them visited the Shilpagrama stall to make purchases.
They were particularly attracted to white granite and marble mirrors, crockery, artefacts, refrigerator magnets, kitchenware and various animal figures. Prices of the products ranged from Rs 250 to Rs 15 lakh.
The exhibition also showcased various usages of different types of stones available in India, such as cobblestone, slabs, tiles, slate, sand stone, granite, marble, quartzite and so on.
There is also a glamour quotient to the exhibition. A fashion show is being held at the venue for the entertainment of the visitors and will be held on all the four days.