Goddess Chamundeshwari idol sculptor bags 'Rajyotsava' award

Mysuru: City-based 71-year-old sculptor N S Janardhana Murthy, who has sculpted the idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari which is housed in the 750-kg golden howdah carried by an elephant during Mysuru Dasara jumbo savari on Vijayadashami every year, has been chosen for this year's 'Rajyotsava' award. He will receive the award at the 65th Karnataka Rajyotsava celebration function at Ravindra Kalakshethra in Bengaluru on Saturday. He is among 60 eminent personalities and five organizations selected for the honour.

Expressing his happiness, Mr Janardhana Murthy told the Hans India, "I used to be one among lakhs of people who used to derive bliss by getting a glimpse of the idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari I have sculpted, during the Dasara jumbo savari. I am happy that I have been recognized in my lifetime, 30 years after I sculpted the idol. It was in 1987 I started sculpting the idol and completed it in 1989. And since 1990, the idol is being placed in the golden howdah during the jumbo savari every year. The 'panchaloha' idol sculpted in Hoysala style is 42 inches tall and weighs over 72 kg. The idol is in the form of Mahishasura Mardhnini," he explained.

Mr Janardhana Murthy, a resident of Gayathripuram here, is from a family of sculptors who have been carrying on the tradition since the era of Vijayanagar kings. Born on 12 December 1949, he is fifth among 12 children of M P Srinivasachar and Sharadamma. Srinivasachar won national award twice for sculpting the idols of Channakeshava and Ardhanareeshwara. He served as master craftman at All India Handicrafts Board in Bengaluru and also as sculptor in Mysuru palace along with noted sculptor Siddalingaswamy.

When the Union government came up with master craftsman training sicheme, Janardhana Murthy who was in second year high school discontinued it, and joined the first batch between 1966 to 1969 and received his diploma in sculpture. He even completed his PUC in evening college. Later he started serving as assistant instructor at Chamaraja Technical Institute (now called Chamaraja Academy of Visual Arts-CAVA) in Mysuru in 1972. And he has also taken up sculpture as profession and he has come up with more than 1000 idols. He has received several awards including Shilpa Kala Academy award.

"My wife Vasantha, and children M J Harsha, a bank manager, M J Manoj Kumar, an Assistant Engineer, and M J Rajesh, who is working in a factory, are also skilled sculptors and support me in all my works," Janardhana Murthy said.

"After abolition of privy purse, the Maharaja of Mysuru stopped sitting in golden howdah during the Dasara jumbo savari in 1970. Following this, some eminent personalities like F K Irani and Ajeej Sait started 'Janatha Dasara' in mid 1970s. At that time wooden idol of 'Bharath Maatha' was placed in the "wooden mantapa" and carried by an elephant during the jumbo savari. After Dasara was declared "Naada Habba" in 1980 the State government started borrowing the golden howdah from the erstwhile royal family of Mysuru to carry colourfully painted clay idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari during savari procession. In 1987, they approached me to come up with the idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari," Janardhana Murthy explained.