Doing 'God's Work': Meet Vipin Bhadauria—Sculptor Giving Shape to Lord Ram's Idol for Ayodhya Temple

Who is Vipin Bhadauria? The man hitting the headlines is the one who is giving shape to the idol of Lord Ram that would be placed in the sanctum sanctorum of Ayodhya’s grand temple on the day of Pran Pratishtha (consecration ceremony), slated to be held on January 22, in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to take part.

Bhadauria, who claimed that the idol of Lord Ram is going to be the world’s most beautiful sculpture, started his career in 1998. However, back then he never thought that one day he would be infusing life in stones through his art.

Bhadauria started working with the technical training of traditional sculptures and used to carve in wood in Bengaluru. However, despite the hours of training and marathon carving sessions, Bhadauria chose to continue his studies. In 2006, Bhadauria completed his graduation in fine arts in traditional sculptures and bagged a gold medal from the College of Fine Arts, Bengaluru University. He then did his postgraduation in contemporary sculpture, becoming Master of Visual Arts from Bengaluru University and gradually gained expertise in carving out gods and goddesses, sculptures in wood, stone, murals, and portraits.

Over the years, Bhadauria has participated in several exhibitions on several platforms–be it the Annual Sculpture Exhibition organised by Shilpakala Academy, at Stone Palace Grounds, Bengaluru, the 3rd Delphic Games Sculpture Competition in Jeju Island, South Korea, and others.

For his exemplary work in the field of carving, Bhadauria has received several prestigious awards, including at the 25th All India Sculpture Exhibition and Contest in Nagpur in 2011, the 2nd Annual Sculptor Exhibition and Contest held in Karnataka Shilpakala Academy, Bengaluru, the 3rd Delphic Games International Sculptures Competition in which he bagged the bronze medal, the Kushakala State Award by the Government of Karnataka, and many others.

Bhadauria, who is sculpting the idol on the Krishna Shila, a special black stone that is considered to be the most beautiful and durable for carving, is working for over 16 hours a day along with his mentor Ganesh Bhatt. The beauty of the statue, he said, would leave Ram Bhakts mesmerised.