Showing peace on Gandhi's face was quite a task: Sculptor

For 89-year-old master sculptor Ram V Sutar (in pic), getting the expression of peace on the face of the 27-foot bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi was the greatest challenge.

The statue has been installed between the Vidhana Soudha and the Vikasa Soudha and will be unveiled by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday to coincide with the birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation. “I had to study a number of photographs of Gandhi, work and rework on the clay mould before getting the expression right,” Sutar, who arrived in Bangalore on Wednesday to participate in the unveiling ceremony, told Deccan Herald. Sutar is internationally recognised and known for several sculptures, including the 45-foot Chambal monument at the Gandhi Sagar Dam in Madhya Pradesh.

Sutar said he had to make sure that he got every patch on the face right and also ensure the sense of proportionality. While the statue has alrea- dy been installed, it has been covered by plastic sheets. People will have to wait till Thursday to see the statue. It will be world’s biggest statue of Gan- dhi in a meditative posture. 

Sutar personally monitored the progress of the statue, assisted by his son Anil Sutar and around 150 skilled craftsmen. It took four months to complete the statue at the studios of Ram Sutar Art Creation Private Limited at Noida. It required 19 tonnes of bronze and seven tonnes of stainless steel to make and cost Rs 11 crore.

The Bangalore sculpture is an enlarged version of the 16-foot statue of Mahatma Gandhi in front of the Parliament House in New Delhi, Anil said.

The legislature amended the Karnataka Government Parks (Preservation) Act in 2013, so that the project could be taken up in the Vidhana Soudha campus.

The Sutars are now working on their next project of constructing 12-foot statues of 10 scientists and philosophers to be installed in Pune.

They have also been shortlisted for the ‘Statue of Unity,’ the 182-metre-tall sculpture of ‘Iron Man’ Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, to be installed at Sadhu Bet, an island located 3 km from Sardar Sarovar dam.