The main gate built by Raghunath Mohapatra at Tara Tarini temple in Ganjam. Telegraph picture

Berhampur, Oct. 3: For Raghunath Mohapatra (67), stone carving is not just a profession, but also a mission to popularise the art among youngsters.

He shot into limelight by sculpting poetry on stone and till date he has trained around 2,000 sculptors. A dropout from the Daitapada Sahi High School in Puri, Raghunath is carving magic on stone since 1959.

“Out of 20 artisan families residing in Pathuria Sahi Puri, only eight were practising stone carving. After joining as master craftsman at the state government-run Handicraft in 1959, I vowed to promote this art among the people despite resistance from different quarters, who felt that stone carving should be confined to a particular caste,” said Mohapatra, whose Konark Horse stand guard near the western gate of Barabati Stadium in Cuttack and Station Square in Bhubaneswar.

Mohapatra’s fame has travelled far and wide. While his 15-feet high Buddha statues in white sandstone has been installed at the historic Dhauligiri peace pagoda near Bhubaneswar, two white Dholpuri sandstone lamp stands in the office of the prime minister. Beyond the state, the sculptor’s 6-feet high statue of the Sun God carved in grey sandstone has found place in the Parliament Central Hall while visitors to Rajiv Gandhi’s samadhi in Birbhumi cannot miss the huge lotus done in black granite stone.

Much like his 15feet Ashokan Pillar at Osaka in Japan, Mohapatra’s wooden Buddha has left many tourists to the Buddha Temple in Paris spellbound.

Looking back at his childhood, Mohapatra said: “As an eight-year-old, I learnt the art of stone carving from my grandfather Aparti Mohapatra. Since then, I have never looked back.”

Before embarking on a project, the master sculptor draws the creation with charcoal or chalk on stone.

“I undertook construction of a 25-feet high Garuda statue at Atharanala and Ananda Bazar in Jagannath Temple of Puri. I am also giving final touches to three temples in Rekha Pidha style at the famous Tara Tarini Temple at Purushottampur in Ganjam district. The project is being done at a cost of Rs 2.5 crore and is expected to be over in three months. Although the construction of the temple is over, the statues are yet to be installed around the temple walls,” he said.

The construction of the temple began in 2004 and the deities would be installed in the new temple early next year. About 40 artisans from Nayagarh, Puri and Bhubaneswar are working for the Tara Tarini temple.

The President of India honoured Mohapatra with the ‘Shilpi Guru’ title and a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh in 2006. He has also won several other national and international awards for his contributions.

Mohapatra wants his art to survive and his sons Yashobant and Susant are getting ready to carry forward the baton.