Hyderabad-Based Sculptor Designs 'Paduka' For Lord Ram In Ayodhya - See Pics

Driven by an unwavering devotion to Lord Ram and a deep-seated desire to fulfill his father's dream of being a 'kar sevak,' a 64-year-old man from the city has embarked on an extensive padayatra covering thousands of kilometres toward Ayodhya. His mission is to present gold-plated footwear for the deity, synchronizing with the consecration of the grand temple scheduled for inauguration on January 22.

Challa Srinivas Sastry, Founder of the Ayodhya Bhagyanagar Sitarama Foundation, has chosen the Ayodhya-Rameswaram route, retracing the path covered by Lord Rama during his exile in reverse. He expressed his intention to journey in the opposite direction, stopping at all the Shiva Lingas established by the Lord along the way. Commencing his walk on July 20, Sastry has already traversed significant locations such as Puri in Odisha, Trimbak in Maharashtra, and Dwaraka in Gujarat, according to a report in PTI.

The intricately crafted 'padukas' measure 12.5 inches in length, 5.5 inches in width, and 1 inch in thickness. They are meticulously constructed using 12.5 kilograms of gold, silver, copper, brass, and white lead metal.

The responsibility of creating the gold-plated footwear was assigned to Pittampalli Ramalinga Chari, a distinguished metal sculptor known for Kalakutir. Working in collaboration with six other sculptors, Ramalinga Chari adopted a distinctive approach by conducting extensive research on ancient Padukas and exploring designs documented in sculptural studies books.

However, Sastry is set to cover a distance of nearly 8000 km by foot, carrying on his head the footwear that he would hand over to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath upon reaching Ayodhya.

"My father participated in Karseva in Ayodhya. He was a strong devotee of Lord Hanuman. His desire was to see the Ram temple built in Ayodhya. As he is no more, I decided to fulfill his desire," the news agency qyoted Sastry as saying.

The devotee has donated five silver bricks so far as part of his contribution to the Ram temple after the Supreme Court verdict in 2019. "I am currently carrying gold-plated 'padukalu' (footwear) made with 'panch dhatu' (five metals) to be given to Lord Shri Ram," he added.

Sastry mentioned that he is tracing the route based on the map 'discovered' by Dr Ramavatar, a retired official from the Income Tax Department who dedicated 15 years to researching the path that Lord Ram took during Vanavas.

It will take another two weeks for Sastry to reach the temple town. However, he temporarily interrupted his march when he had to travel to the UK. Subsequently, he resumed his walk from the point in Tamil Nadu where he had paused.

Sastry wants to settle down in Ayodhya permanently and intends to construct a house.

One of Sastry's sons, Challa Pavan Kumar is the first blade runner in India and won several medals, he said. Sastry said he had worked with several film studios as a sound engineer.

The Ram temple will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 22.

It has to be noted that the first pair has already reached its destination, and the second pair is being taken by Sastry on a foot march to the sacred site.