Meet the artist behind 28-feet statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose

New Delhi, Sep 08: Prime Minister on Thursday will unveil the statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at India Gate. It is sculpted by Mysuru-based Arun Yogiraj.

The statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose is being installed in the same place where a hologram statue of Netaji was unveiled earlier this year on Parakram Diwas (January 23) by him. The statue, made of granite, is a fitting tribute to the immense contribution of Netaji to our freedom struggle, and would be a symbol of the country's indebtedness to him.

Who sculpted the statue?

The 28-feet tall statue has been carved from a monolithic granite stone by Arun Yogiraj, who was the main sculptor. The statue, which weighs 65 MT, is completely hand sculpted using traditional techniques and modern tools. The team of sculptors for executing the statue was led by Yogiraj.

Arun Yogiraj is a Mysuru-based sculptor, who had earlier carved the 12-foot statue of Adi Shankaracharya at Kedarnath. Since childhood, he dreamt of visiting India Gate and happy because he got the opportunity to carve a statue that will be installed here. "When I was a kid, I wanted to visit India Gate and now I got the opportunity to build Netaji's statue which will be installed there. It is a dream come true for an artist like me," he is quoted as saying by India Today in an interview.

The 37-year-old recruited artists from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan to complete the work.

However, it was a challenging task and they came up with a replica of the actual statue and the artists started working on the actual statue, later.

He is the son of noted sculptor Yogiraj Shilpi and hails from a family of Mysuru palace artists, according to a report in Indian Express.

Although he worked with a private company after completing an MBA degree, he returned to full time sculpting in 2008.

Apart from Adi Shankaracharya statute in Kedarnath, he had carved a 14.5-foot white marble sculpture of Maharaja Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar in his home town of Mysuru and white marble sculpture of Swami Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.