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National Emblem row: Original Ashok Stambha artist visited zoo for months, says family
Dinanath Bhargava was one of the artists of the original Ashok Stambha. Amid the controversy, his family recalls that he was asked by Nanadalal Bose to visit a zoo to observe the expressions of a lion closely.
Amid the ongoing row over the design of the National Emblem atop the new Parliament building which allegedly does not look like the original one, the family members of Dinanath Bhargava, one of the original artists of the emblem said he kept visiting a zoo in Kolkata for three months to closely observe lions. Dinanath Bhargava was a co-artist on the team who as advised by his guru used to visit the zoo to closely observe lions and their expressions. Also Read: Artists say no distortion amid row over ‘aggressive’ emblem
Dinanath Bhargava died at the age of 89 in Indore in 2016. He was chosen in the team for the National Emblem by noted painter Nandalal Bose who was then the principal of Shantiniketan's Kala Bhavan. Bhargava, at that time, was in his early 20s, pursuing a 3-year diploma in fine arts there.
"India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had given the task of designing the Constitution's original manuscript to Ravindranath Tagore's Shantiniketan's Kala Bhavan principal and noted painter Nandalal Bose," Dinanath Bhargava's wife Prabha (85) told PTI.
Also Read: Modi govt blasts ‘experts' over Ashokan Lions criticism: ‘sense of proportion…’
The other students in the team were Kripal Singh Shekhawat, Jagdish Mittal and Gauri Bhanja.
The National Emblem is at the centre of a fresh controversy as the opposition slammed the government for distorting the National Emblem. With bare fangs, the lion in the new representation looks aggressive with the teeth showing, the opposition parties have claimed after PM Modi unveiled the structure, weighing 9,500kg and measuring 6.5 metres in height. Designers Sunil Deore and Romiel Moses said there has been no deviation in the design and the statue may appear different because it is a huge statue and photos are taken from below.
Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri has defended the look of the National Emblem and said the Sarnath lion could also be perceived as calm or angry if one looks the structure from below. “If an exact replica of the original were to be placed on the new building, it would barely be visible beyond the peripheral rail. The ‘experts’ should also know that the original placed in Sarnath is at ground level while the new emblem is at a height of 33 mtrs from ground," the minister said.
