The tallest idol of Lord Ram to be installed at his grand temple in Ayodhya is to be built by another Ram, who has sculpted over 1500 statues and has been awarded Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri and Tagore Award.
The sculptor is 95-year-old Ram Sutar, born in Dhulia district of Maharashtra but now settled in Noida where he has a studio in Sector 63 to churn out the idols and statues over the years.
He had graduated from Sir J J School of Arts in Mumbai and has the expertise to produce the sculptures in bronze, stone and marble.Sutar is also the maker of the "Statue of Unity" in Gujarat. He is also crafting the 137.2-metre high statue of Baba Saheb Ambedkar in Mumbai and 212-metre high statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
The most popular statue sculpted by Ram Sutar is of 16-feet high Mahatma Gandhi in a meditating posture in bronze, installed in the Parliament House opposite the main gate of Parliament. It was unveiled by then President of India, Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma, on 2 October 1993.
In the Mahatma Gandhi centenary, the government presented copies of this statue to many countries, including Britain, Russia, France, Malaysia, Italy and Argentina.
In 1950s, Sutar was associated with the Archeological Department and he is credited with the restoration of many idols in the Ajanta and Ellora caves.
