Bhubaneswar, Feb. 16: Intellectuals, sculptors and archaeologists today strongly favoured the idea of recreating Konark, three days after the state government discussed the proposal with sculptor Raghunath Mohapatra for building a replica of the Sun Temple.

Members of the Indian National Trust For Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach), which sponsors and takes up archaeological conservation activities, and the Kalinga Heritage Preservation Trust discussed on various aspects of building another Sun temple during a meeting at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan here.

“There are some who question the necessity of creating a new temple and assert the original Konark temple can never be replicated. Konark is an epic stone monument, which can be and should be recreated, espousing contemporary interpretation,” said Anil Dey, chairman of the trust and former joint transport commissioner of Odisha.

He said during repairs the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has replaced sculptured stones with plain stones, which is not a convincing method of preservation. A new temple is necessary to portray the architecture of Odisha.

During the discussion, many engineers and sculptors also debated on the selection of land for the new monument, so that the recreated temple could stand the test of time.

“The Sun Temple was built on the beach sand at its base because of which there are issues when it comes to steadiness of its foundation. Yet, it has been standing strong for 800 years. So, we must choose a proper site. If the new temple is built, it must live up to its name,” said sculptor Sudarshan Sahoo. He also raised many logical questions about the recreation of a new temple.

“It will be a matter of pride for sculptors to be given the responsibility of building a replica of Konark temple. But, there are many challenges involved. When proper care of the existing masterpiece has not been taken, how can we be sure that the replica will be well preserved? Then comes a major issue of finding the right stones and, most importantly, sculptors,” he said, adding that because of the unavailability of stones, most Odia sculptors worked outside the state.

Sahoo said the best stone — muguni or chlorite — could be used for the most important statues. But, in the original temple, 80 per cent stones are of high quality, and in the replica, there are chances of only 20 per cent matching up to that quality.

“There has to be a sincere effort by sculptors and the public in general and years of planning to build something as majestic as Konark. Legend says it had taken 18 years of planning for the kings to build Konark and they had conducted extensive research on lifestyle, society, culture, stones, sculptors and various other elements. This research will be required even now. We will take over a decade to just plan the monument. Then comes the dilemma of finding enough sculptors. It will take 1,000 major sculptors and 4,000 assistants to build a replica of the temple,” said 74-year-old Sahoo.

Many sculptors also suggested that the replica could be built out of red stone like in Red Fort and layered with Khandolite to make it strong. Creating of a sculptors’ village or shilpa gram would be essential first to create good artists, said a sculptor.

However, some members of Intach suggested that with an estimated budget of over Rs 100 crore, our sculptors could use Kalingan architecture to create a majestic wonder of the new age.

“I feel restoration of Konark is possible just like monuments near the Nile were completely shifted and restored by Unesco. But, creation of a replica is definitely not same as restoration. With their creative abilities, our sculptors should take up the challenge of building another gigantic stunning monument. I do not see why we must replicate and not create something new,” said Ananta Mohapatra, a senior member of Intach, Bhubaneswar.

On Tuesday, Raghunath Mohapatra met state culture minister Maheswar Mohanty in the presence of sculptor Sahoo. They discussed issues, including the location of the project and design as well as size of the replica.

The culture minister said many artists were in favour of the proposal. But chief minister Naveen Patnaik will take the final call on the project.