Vizhinjam: The final carvings of the 10 feet high sculpture of Mahabharata stories, Krishna and Dashavatara beautifully assembled have been completed. The world record targeting sculpture will be taken over by the great actor Mohanlal. Mohanlal, who owns Vishwaroopam, which was built in Arati four years ago, had expressed his desire for the sculpture. The sculptor Nagappan says that no one else has ever carved a cosmic statue at such a height and that it is the first tallest sculpture in the world.
Vishwaroopam, which tells the Mahabharata story, and Krishna, who utters the Panchajanya, were created in a single sculpture at the Kovalam Craft Village. On either side of the ten-foot-tall sculpture, the artists meticulously carve out the events of the Mahabharata and the incarnations of Lord Vishnu. Nagappan and eight other sculptors have been working on Vishwaroopam’s work for the past one year at Dia Craft Village, an art village in Kovalam Vellar.
The ten-foot-tall sculpture is meticulously carved with an eleven-faced Vishwaroopam on one side and a Panchajanya-sounding Krishna on the other, and the Dashavatara around it. The Vishwaroopam is carved on top of two pedestals. Karna, who is trying to lift the chariot, is meticulously carved by Kaliyamardan, Krishna and Gopi behind it. About 400 characters are engraved on the pedestal of the sculpture.
Apart from Nagappan, the other sculptors are Radhakrishnan, Ramachandran, Peetham Viji, Saji, Sivanandan, Kumar, Bhagyaraj and Soman. The sculpture was completed by hand without memorizing the Mahabharata story and copying its outline on wood. Construction is by day only. They say the sculpture is aimed at foreigners, but orders are coming in from other states. Ganapati, Jesus and the five-faced Hanuman are all ready in their craft.