Bringing statues to life

Bypass the Bengaluru-Hyderabad highway; opposite the road that leads to Shamshabad Airport, there is an ensemble of leaders- from Gandhi, to Vivekananda, to NTR and even Sonia Gandhi, staring at the passersby, awaiting their veneration at scheduled spots in the country.

Being lifesize isn’t the only reason, why statues at Sri Saibaba Mega Silpasala look so real, known for his monumental sculptures, artiste Burra Sivavara Prasad has seamlessly fused the modern visual idioms with his own roots and ethos. Bronze, clay, fiber, the varieties with him are aplenty.

Prasad has numerous accolades on this front, including being the winner of Best Artist Award for Fiber Statues from late President, APJ Abdul Kalam. Speaking to CityTAB, BS Prasad, said, “We make statues of personalities on demand, either for display on roads or for families, who want to reminisce their elderly who have passed away.”

Sculpting of statues was something Prasad carried forward from his forefathers. He not only supplies statues for Hyderabad but also sends them out to different states of the country. Explaining the statue business of his store, he adds, “Most of the statues seen in Hyderabad and Secunderabad come from our outlets. Recently, statues of APJ Abdul Kalam and Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan were sent to Chennai, which would be inaugurated by the Governor of Meghalaya, on Saturday.”

Prasad laid emphasis on the fact that national holidays and days celebrating birth anniversaries of social reformers like Dr BR Ambedkar, are celebrated by installing or venerating sculptures. “Statues of Dr BR Ambedkar for April 14 and Mahatma Gandhi on August 15, October 2 and January 26, are always in high demand.

Elections were also the time when we could rake in huge business, but the Supreme Court order banning statues in public places has brought about a huge loss for us,” he added. Post bifurcation, there has been an increased demand for the Telugu Talli (mother of Telugu) statues. “Most of the statues have been done by me,” he exclaimed, while he gave finishing touches to the replica of Statue of Liberty he is currently engaged in.

By:Johnson D’Souza