Statue of Unity sculptor likely to recreate Shivaji statue in Rajkot

MUMBAI: After the recent collapse of the 35-feet tall metal statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at Rajkot Fort, Sindhudurg, which was inaugurated by prime minister Narendra Modi last year, the state government has approached sculptor Anil Ram Sutar to re-envision the statue. The Noida-based artist is likely to visit the site next week, and met chief minister Eknath Shinde in Varsha, on Thursday, to discuss the project.
Sutar, vice-president of Ram Sutar Fine Arts Private Limited (RSFAPL), confirmed he has shared his views on the specifics of the work in the first round of talks with the government. “They have yet to tell me what the size of the new statue is going to be. They may clarify after I visit the site and submit my observations,” he said.
Anil Sutar has been commissioned to create the 450-feet tall statue of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar at Indu Mills, Mumbai — second in height to the 597-feet Statue of Unity, in Gujarat.
Sutar and his 98-year-old Padma Bhushan awardee father Ram, who is the director of RSFAPL, have created over 1,000 statues which are installed at public places in 450 countries. Prominent projects commissioned to the father-son duo in the past include the Statue of Unity; 251-meter tall statue of Lord Ram, at Ayodhya; 153-feet high statue of Lord Shiva in Bengaluru; a 100-feet tall statue of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj at Moshi, Pune; the 85-ft high Lachit Borphukan at Jorhat, Assam among others.
While he reserved comment on what may have led to the collapse of the Shivaji statue earlier this week, he said structural engineering, stress analysis, geotechnical considerations, aerodynamics and wind velocity of the area are basic facts considered before statues are constructed.
“I don’t know how the wind speed was calculated, the quality of welding and other specifications of the old statue. It is up to the investigation agencies to report on what led to the fall. Some are blaming it on wind load, others are saying it collapsed because it was made of steel – whatever be the cause, it should not have happened,” he said. Sharing details of work flow, he said, after ascertaining scientific stipulations, a sculptor studies facial expressions, the subject’s gait and style of walking, body language and clothing to imbue personality into the work.
“On the technical front, we look at the site where the work will be set up after which we perform wind tunnel test, to understand what can be the impact of strong gusts of wind on the statue; its maximum pressure; and the past graph of weather conditions. For example, in the case of the Statue of Unity, we studied wind loads, flood levels and looked through 100-year-old records of floods in the area,” said Sutar.
Delving into history, he pointed out how century-old bronze statues are known to have stood the test of time as the ‘lost wax process’ was used to make them. The procedure involves creating a wax model of a figure, around which a clay mould is made; it is then subjected to heat, thus melting or ‘losing’ the wax; molten bronze, or any metal of choice, is subsequently poured into the hollow clay mould.
Sutar said such scientific know-how was also exercised to create a bronze statue 5,000 years ago, unearthed from Mohenjo-Daro. Today, he said, most statues commissioned by the government are fashioned out of bronze, while private institutions prefer fibreglass, steel or concrete.
The ratio between the head and the rest of the body of a statue is generally worked on the metric of 1:7.5. “While finalising the Ambedkar statue at Indu Mills, family members of the architect of Indian Constitution were consulted. The model of the Statue of Unity was shown to 250 people in Gujarat from all walks of life, suggestions and objections were invited, and incorporated in the final structure,” said Sutar. “Views of people who have studied these personalities or follow them as guides are important not only to finetune the sculpture but also rule out discrepancies, if any. In the case of Dr Ambedkar’s model, there was a difference of opinion over his hand which is being rectified.”