E-Paper
Statues to recreate Ramayana at Ayodhya’s Ram Katha Kunj
Around 80 episodes of the epic starting from the birth of Lord Ram, his marriage and exile till his taking “Jal Samadhi” in the Saryu river will be portrayed by 125 especially designed statues
Various episodes of the epic Ramayana will be created through 125 statues at the proposed Ram Katha Kunj which will come up on Ram Janmabhoomi campus in Ayodhya. Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirath Kshetra Trust has decided to expedite the Ram Katha Kunj project so that unique display of statues portraying around 80 episodes of the Ramayana may come up when Ram Mandir is opened for devotees by December 2023.
Sculptor Ranjeet Mandal of Assam along with his father Narayan Chandra Mandal is executing the project. A team of sculptors is helping the father–son duo in completing the project at Ram Sewak Puram in Ayodhya. Soon, more sculptors will be engaged to complete the project. Till date, statues related to 40 episodes of the Ramayana have been created and work is under way for 19 more episodes.
Around 80 episodes of the epic starting from the birth of Lord Ram, his marriage and exile till his taking “Jal Samadhi” in the Saryu river will be portrayed by 125 especially designed statues measuring around three to four feet each.
According to Mandal, cement, iron rods and steel net are being used in making of these statues. It takes around three months to prepare statues of one episode of the Ramayana. These statues will be painted and kept in separate glass boxes at the Ram Katha Kunj. During night, lights will illuminate the Ram Katha Kunj to give a majestic look to the entire campus.
According to the Trust, the making of the statues has been going on since 2013. However, the project was moving at a slow pace. It was only after the Supreme Court’s November 9, 2019 decision in favour of Ram Mandir that it was decided to expedite it. VHP leader the late Ashok Singhal was the man behind this project.
Once Singhal was in Guwahati to take part in a public event where he was given a statue made of “Plaster of Paris” and he inquired about the sculptor, said a member of the Trust. After some time, Mandal got a message from Ashok Singhal to meet him in Ayodhya. This was how the project was conceptualised, added the Trust member.
