"Went Through 1,000 Photos": Sculptor Who Carved Ram Lalla Speaks To NDTV

Sculptor Arun Yogiraj, whose creation now adorns the 'garbha griha' (sanctum sanctorum) of the grand Ram temple in Ayodhya, went through more than a 1,000 pictures of Lord Ram while carving his version of Ram Lalla.

Speaking to NDTV in an exclusive interview, the Mysuru-based artist said, "I went through more than a 1,000 pictures of Lord Ram. Every day, after finishing work, I would look at those pictures no matter how late it was."

Mr Yogiraj said that while working on the statue of Ram Lalla, he did not take any other order because he did not want to lose focus. "I was getting a lot of orders (for sculptures), but did not want my spiritual experience to be disrupted. I did not talk much to anyone during this time. I was detached from the world for about six months. I thought about Ram Lalla round the clock," he said.

Mr Yogiraj, who had come to Ayodhya for the consecration ceremony, is set to return to Mysuru. Earlier, speaking to media on the day of 'pran pratistha', Mr Yogiraj had said it was the "best day of his life".

Three ace sculptors had carved idols of five-year Ram Lalla as per the specifications of the trust overseeing the construction of the temple. While Mr Yogiraj's creation is now in the sanctum sanctorum, the other two will be placed elsewhere in the temple.

The 51-inch black granite idol carved by Mr Yogiraj is from a rock 2.5 billion years old, National Institute of Rock Mechanics HS Venkatesh has said. "The rock is highly durable and resistant to climatic variation and will sustain thousands of years in this subtropical zone with minimum maintenance," he has said.

The rock was brought all the way from Karnataka after it was found and excavated during a levelling exercise on an agricultural plot.

The other two idols were carved by Rajasthan's Satyanarayan Pandey and Karnataka's Ganesh Bhatt. While Mr Bhatt's version is also in black stone, Mr Pandey's is in white marble.