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| CAption |
Bhubaneswar, Oct. 17: Sculptor Sudarshan Sahoo, who created the panel on Gautam Buddha’s life for the international peace pagoda at Dhauli in 1971, has made a mark by carving images on the same theme across the globe.
This time, Sahoo is carving out the biggest stone panel in the world depicting Buddha’s life. It will measure 101 feet by 15 feet. While the main panel will be made of sandstone, it will be decorated with two layers of granite borders with fine carvings. The entire panel with the granite decorations will weigh around 200 tonnes.
The panel will be decorated with carvings on the tales from the birth till the death of Lord Buddha. It will be carved out of 30 huge stones and will ultimately be assembled at a Panvel city park in Navi Mumbai. The work on this, which began nearly 36 months ago, will take at least another 12 months to complete.
The sculptor’s creation is being given shape by a team of 10 artisans, who are working on the carvings under the supervision of Sahoo at the Sudarshan Art and Crafts Village in Jayadev Vihar.
“We are working under the guidance of a Japanese Buddhist monk Yoshio Ishiyama. A Mumbai-based Buddhism enthusiast-cum-industrialist is funding the project. We are not dealing directly with him, but through Ishiyama,” said the master sculptor.
Ishiyama is an expert on Buddhist sculptor, especially on the carvings that depict the journey of Buddha’s life.
Under Ishiyama’s expert guidance, Sahoo has created many panels based on Buddha’s Jataka tales. After his Dhauli creation in 1971, he made a panel for the Japanese city of Atami in 1978. In 1980, his creation found place in the industrial township called Milton Keynes near London. In 1990, he crafted a panel for the Hanaokayama peace pagoda and two years later he undertook a similar job for the Darjeeling Peace Pagoda.
“We probably need time till January 2015 for this work,” said Sahoo.
Ishiyama guides the artisans on the correct postures, designs, mood and the contemporary jewellery and ammunition that are associated with the various characters.