A 20-day sculpture camp that concluded at the Ahalia campus in Kanjikode, near here, on November 18 resulted in nine granite sculptures of unique male characters from Indian epics and Upanishads.
The hard work of the sculptors from different parts of the country reflects on each of the granite sculpture that will decorate the Sculpture Park in Ahalia Heritage Village.
Although Ahalia Heritage Village had witnessed several sculpture camps before, it was the first camp exclusively on male characters from Indian mythology. “We did not choose the characters randomly. All the nine characters chosen from the puranas and Katha Upanishad had some uniqueness about them,” said R.V.K. Varma, head of Ahalia Heritage Village.
The sculptors who gave life to granite characters were Tarvinder Singh and Mandip Singh from Punjab, Anupras Singh from West Bengal, Thalamuthu Alagurajan and Sharat Kumar from Tamil Nadu, and Ajeesh, Satheesh Shoranur, Sebin Joseph and Amal Dev from Kerala.
“We gave complete artistic freedom to the sculptors. We just gave them the character, and they created it in accordance with their imagination,” said Devan Madangarly, who supervised the camp.
The statue of Karna was created without the head and limps. The sun mark on the chest could instantly identify the character. The Kaurava hero on the chariot is portrayed brilliantly in granite.
So is that of characters like Ashwatthama, Ashtavakra, Abhimanyu, Nachiketas, Rishyasringa, Ghatotkacha, Eklavya, and Markandeya. The sculptor who made Ashtavakra emphasised the eight physical deformities of the character. The evil thoughts that controlled the brain of Ashwatthama were cleverly portrayed on his face. The statue of Markandeya has Shiv ling and Yama brilliantly portrayed on it.
“If you look closely, each character unveils in front of us. That is the brilliance of these sculptures,” said Dr. Varma.
The developing Sculpture Park in Ahalia Heritage Village has more than 100 granite sculptures in it. An enclave of feminine sculptures titled Sthrainam (meaning femininity) is the most appealing part of the park. Next to it, an exclusive male enclave is coming up . The nine male sculptures are the first entrants to the male enclave.
