Renowned sculptor Ram Vanji Sutar, who has designed the Statue of Unity in Narmada district in Gujarat has been selected for the prestigious 2016 Tagore Award by the Union Ministry of Culture.
Ram Sutar ji giving final touches to Statue of Unity
The award jury was headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and included Chief Justice of India Justice Ranjan Gogoi, former chief election commissioner N Gopalaswami and national vice president of the BJP Vinay Sahasrabuddhe.
Ram Sutar ji posing beside the Mahatma Gandhi statue he sculpted
Sutar ji (born 19 February 1925) might be 93 years old, but that hasn’t slowed him down or his work. He is all ready for the 182 metres statue of Sardar Patel to be inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi on October 31, 2018. The renowned sculptor has made a contribution par excellence by sculpting a majestic statue which will stand tall as the symbol of India’s unity and the ‘Iron Man of India’.
His first notable work was the 45 feet Chambal monument at the Gandhi Sagar Dam, in Madhya Pradesh. This 45 feet high gigantic masterpiece carved out of a single block depicts mother Chambal with her two children- Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan symbolising the brotherhood of the two States.
Sculpture of Mahatma Gandhi by Ram Sutar ji in Hannover
The most well known among his works is the bust of Mahatma Gandhi that he sculpted, which is instantly recognisable worldwide, and copies of it were presented by the Government of India to other countries like France, Italy, Argentina, Barbados, Russia, England, and Italy where they have been put on display on the occasion of the Gandhian Centenary Celebrations. However, the largest copy of this bust was made for the International Trade Fair of Asia in 1972 & is permanently on display at Pragati Maidan, Mathura Road, New Delhi. Mahatma Gandhi has always been his most frequent muse. He has also sculpted Mahatma Gandhi statues in meditation pose, 17 feet high, which are installed at Gandhinagar, Gujrat and the Parliament House, New Delhi.
