Bhopal: Garuda, a wooden vehicle of lord Vishnu exhibited at the online exhibition of IGRMS

BHOPAL: Garuda, a wooden vehicle of lord Vishnu in namaskar form, is the first exhibit at the ‘Exhibit of the Week’ of January on the official website and social media pages of Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya (IGRMS), Bhopal

The exhibition, that began from Monday, is part of the popular museum online series ‘Exhibit of the Week’.

The height and width of the exhibit, collected from the folk community of Puri, Odisha in 1998 by the museum, are 28cm and 27cm.

Director of the museum Praveen Kumar Mishra says that wood is one such popular medium available abundantly in the forest area. This intricately carved image of Garuda (vehicle of lord Vishnu) is one of the finest examples of wood craft prevalent in Odisha. It is carved out of a single piece of wood.

The sitting image of Garuda is shown on a circular pedestal in ‘Namaskar mudra (bow down form), says he adding that this image of Garuda shows the specialised form of carving that is extremely intricate and meticulous.

Different idols of Gods and Goddesses with special reference to Lord Jagannath, along with animal, bird, toy, palanquin, portable pavilion, wooden chest, door etc are some of the popular pieces carved in different parts of Odisha.

The woodcarvers of Khandapada, Puri, Daspalla and Kendrapara are very much proficient in this craft since time immemorial, Mishra says.