Odisha artist carves Hanuman Chalisa on wood

The letters in Hindi were carved in the 'gambari' wood and pasted in the two-inch thickness wooden frame. Sahu has also polished it in such a manner that it would last long.

Berhampur, Odisha: An artist in Odisha's Ganjam district has carved out a 'Hanuman Chalisa', in wood on the occasion of the consecration of the Ram temple at Ayodhya on January 22.

He would like to present it for installation in the newly built Ram temple.

Arun Sahu (35) of Kanchuru village near Hinjili town of the district has made the Chalisha in 5.6-feet height and 30-inch wooden frame along with the carving of the image of the Lord Hanuman.

The letters in Hindi were carved in the 'gambari' wood and pasted in the two-inch thickness wooden frame. He has also polished it in such a manner that it would last long.

Sahu, who owns an institute to train the youngsters, said he took nearly one month to finish the wood carving craft.

Some of his students have also extended helping hands in carving the letters and to paste these to form 40 verses or 'dohas' of the Chalisa.

"The Hanuman Chalisa is generally chanted in most of the Ram temples in the country. I have decided to make this sacred hymn in a different way and to give it after consecrating the idol in the newly constructed temple. The wood-carved Chalisa needs to be installed in the temple, where the devotees can chant it," said Sahu.

He, however, was not officially invited to attend the inauguration of the temple. "If invited, I will go. Otherwise, I will go to Ayodhya after some days of the inauguration of the temple and present the wooden frame of the Hanuman Chalisa," said Sahu, who is a devotee of Hanuman.

Earlier Sahu had also carved the Hanuman Chalisha in the wood in the format of a book. The size of the book is 12-inch height and 10-inch width. The pages of the book are in wood with two-inch thickness.

"I have preserved this wood book to present to Prime Minister Narendra Modi if I get a chance to meet him," said Sahu.

Sahu had earlier gifted a wood portrait of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, which had been carved for Patnaik during his visit to Hinjili, his own constituency, some months ago.