Sutar with his works. (Express photo/Praveen Khanna)
IN A studio in Noida in the National Capital Region lie three statues of Shivaji, each 0.762 metres (2.5 ft) in height, and a fourth one outside, stands at 8.22 metres (26.9 ft). The tallest one, built a year ago, will eventually serve as the model for the 121.2-metre (397.63-foot) statue of the Maratha ruler to be raised on a reclaimed island off Mumbai coast, as one of the tallest statues in the world.
Last month, The Indian Express reported that the Maharashtra government was planning to cut the height of Shivaji in the statue by 7.5 metres (from 83.2 metres) and instead increase the height of his sword in it by 7.5 metres (from 38 metres), to retain the overall height of the structure. The original base length is also being proportionally reduced, with the cuts in the amount of bronze, tertiary steel elements and armature expected to reduce costs by around Rs 338.94 crore.
With the Opposition calling the changes to the ‘Shiv Smarak’ an “insult” to Shivaji, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said alterations to the pedestal height of the structure were required “to provide a solid formation for high wind pressure in the middle of the sea”. However, he has remained mum on changes in the design of the statue.
At the Noida studio, award-winning sculptor Ram V Sutar (93), who was tasked with the job a year ago, says he has no idea about these changes. Son Anil (60), who helps out his father, adds, “It doesn’t work like that. It will ruin the proportion of the sculpture, it will look funny. Anyway, we haven’t been approached regarding this by the state government so far.”
Sutar is the go-to sculptor for governments across India — from Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi to Mayawati and the BJP — seeking to build prestigious statues. The Padma Bhushan awardee is currently building not just one statue seeking to be “world’s tallest” but two — the other being the 182-metre (597-foot) Statue of Unity of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel coming up near the Narmada dam in Gujarat, a pet project of the BJP governments at the state and Centre.
Besides, Sutar is also working on the war memorial coming up at India Gate, where 21 busts of Param Vir Chakra recipients and six murals of various wars that India has fought since 1947 would be displayed. The war memorial was recently in the news when the Delhi High Court questioned the “secrecy” around the construction.
The race against time requires Sutar to clock in eight-hour days at his Noida studio. With the sculptor also working on several smaller projects, he says he has no time for breaks. At any given time, 25-30 men are at work on various statues, with Sutar monitoring each of them. The average size of a statue at the studio is 1.8 metres (5.9 ft), and it takes around two months to finish one.
Sutar with his son at his studio in Noida. (Express photo/Praveen Khanna)
Since Sutar got the Statue of Unity project in 2016, he has also been making frequent trips to the foundry in Nanjing, China, where the structure is being cast in bronze. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to inaugurate the statue on October 31, Sardar Patel’s birth anniversary.
Says Anil, “In China, we told the workers how to texture the statue. Unlike the smooth Gautam Buddha statues they make… (the Patel statue will capture) the threads of the shawl, the way his chin was, the eyebrows… all his features have to be evident.”
As Anil shows a photo of the two of them telling foundry workers how to fix one of Patel’s toenails — he says he told them to “add more skin” — Sutar says, “Since the government talks about ‘Make in India’, I thought this statue too would be made here, but it’s now ‘Made in China’ you can say.”
While the statue’s concrete structure is being made on site in Gujarat, the bronze cladding, which will include the intricate contours of Patel’s face and frame, has been put together at the foundry.
Says Anil, “Since Patel was responsible for consolidating India in 1947, we wanted to get artistes from across the country and build it in a foundry here. But the government wanted it done in China due to better infrastructure there. The job needed to be done quickly.”
The bronze cladding, made in parts in China, was by turns shipped to Gujarat, where the statue is now being welded together on site by close to 2,400 workers. Sutar and his son are to visit soon for the final touches.
Chuckling as he rattles off the numbers, the 93-year-old says, “The pedestal is 26-metre high, the statue is 159 metres. Sardar Patel’s head alone is 21.3 metres, while the eyeballs are 1.8 metres (6 ft) each.” Letting in on a “secret”, he adds, “The statue’s ankles are thicker than they are supposed to be because there is an elevator inside (to take visitors up to the level of the chest of the statue, where there will be a visitors’ gallery).”
In case of the Shiv Smarak, Sutar and Anil are not too sure when the work will begin, especially with the planned changes. “When the sculptures are small, the structure isn’t very important… But in these cases, the statues have to withstand wind pressure. We have to coordinate with structural engineers, amalgamate structural stability with aesthetics.”
Being part of two of the world’s tallest statues — currently the distinction is held by China’s Spring Temple Buddha (128 metres) — is a 70-year-old dream come true for him, adds Sutar. When the sculptor, from a small village in Maharashtra, was in his 20s, an art teacher showed him a picture of the Statue of Liberty. That’s when he first dreamt of creating the tallest statue, he says. “One that would touch the skies.” At 185 metres, the Statue of Unity would be almost double the size.
To those who question the purpose of these statues, Sutar says, “Since the Stone Age and Bronze Age, statues are being built in remembrance… How can this be futile?”
Meanwhile, yet another prestigious BJP project may come his way. The Uttar Pradesh government wants to put up a statue of Lord Ram in Ayodhya, and Sutar is working on a proposal for it. “It’s supposed to be 70-metre tall,” smiles Anil.