‘Eight months, 100+ collaborators for Nada Devi statue’

Sridhara Murthy K is the lead sculptor of the 25-ft bronze statue of Bhuvaneshwari Devi, unveiled last month near the western entrance of Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru.

Sridhara Murthy K has created over 100 sculptures in his 25-year career, including a viral silicone figurine of a woman in 2020. Yet, he says, the pride of completing his latest project is unmatched.

Murthy is the lead sculptor of the 25-ft bronze statue of Bhuvaneshwari Devi, unveiled last month near the western entrance of Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru. The 31.5-tonne sculpture commemorates 50 years of the renaming of the erstwhile Mysore State to ‘Karnataka’. Bhuvaneshwari, also known as Nada Devi, is the state goddess of Karnataka.

“While Vidhana Soudha has statues of politicians, saints, and poets, the Bhuvaneswari Devi statue embodies many virtues… Kannada identity, divinity, motherhood, and prosperity,” says the Shivamogga native, who lives in Bengaluru. He is the son of renowned sculptor Shilpi Kashinath.

Sridhara Murthy K has made over 100 sculptures in his 25 year career

The project was commissioned by the Department of Kannada and Culture. It is the largest bronze work he has sculpted, surpassing his previous 15-ft bronze creation.

The 52-year-old was supported by more than 100 artists from across India over 8 months. They first created a cement cast, followed by a fibreglass mould, a sand cast, and finally, the bronze sculpture. The statue was made with over 150 parts, which were assembled on an earthquake-resistant frame built by his brother Nagabhushan, a structural designer. It was oxidised, and coated with lacquer to “prevent corrosion”.

The most challenging part was crafting the neck-to-crown section. “If joints are visible on the face, it can diminish its beauty,” he explains. To overcome this, an 8-ft furnace was built at his Nagasandra foundry to cast the face in wax in two parts.

The technical work followed months of brainstorming with government officials. The goal was to create an installation that embodies all aspects of Karnataka. 

Bhuvaneshwari Devi sits against the backdrop of a 30-ft map of Karnataka. “We’ve added details such as the topography of the Western Ghats, district boundaries, and the river network,” he explains.

The map also bears the Nada Geethe (the state anthem by Kuvempu) and the state flag. Gandaberunda, the state emblem featuring a mythical two-headed bird, is chiselled into the necklace. Yali, a mythological creature with a lion’s head, adorns the waist belt. A long neckpiece boasts the Hoysala emblem of a warrior slaying a tiger. “The body is carved in the Chalukyan figurative style, as seen in the Badami cave temples,” he adds.

Murthy is proud that his work now stands at Vidhana Soudha, “one of
Bengaluru’s most photographed landmarks”.