the-man-behind-the-murtis-of-ram-mandir

While Prime Minister Modi is all set to inaugurate the Ayodhya Ram Mandir on 22nd January, preparations on all fronts are underway at breakneck speeds.

Among the contributors, Hitesh Sonpura is one person who has been working with his team relentlessly for the past 9 months.

Sandstone from Dhrangadhra, based in Gujarat’s Surendranagar district, has a special unique hardness. 

 

These exceptionally strong and durable stones have been used over centuries to build temples, palaces and historical monuments.

 

Dhrangadhra-based Sonpura, who has been carving stones for many years, has been assigned the important task of creating ‘Murtis’ for Ayodhya.

 

 In fact, according to Sonpura, initially, there were only two people who had been assigned this job.

“Currently, there are 4-5 others like me who are working with their teams," said Sonpura.

There are a total of 5 mandaps in the Ram Mandir. For the unversed, Mandaps can be seen as corridors with the ceiling creating a Shikhar (conical temple top). The height of Shikhar increases as one goes ahead. The final one and the tallest Shikhar is above the ‘Garbhagriha’ where the God’s main idol stands. 

As you enter the Ram Mandir from the ‘Sinhdwar’, the first Mandap that comes is the Rang Mandap. It is followed by Nrutya Mandap. After the Nrutya Mandap comes the Guddhi Mandap. Next comes the fourth Mandap which is the Kirtan Mandap. The fifth one is the Garbhagriha.

 

Talking to News Arena India,  Hitesh said, “The responsibility of Rang Mandap and Prarthna Kirtan Mandap has been fully assigned to me. Apart from this we also have to create Murtis for the Stambhs (pillars) of Guddhi Mandap. So far we have created 300+ Murtis. These are the Murtis that are required to be installed in advance during the construction work. There are hundreds of them still to be created. We are the only ones in Gujarat and among very few in the country who have been assigned this task.”

 

When Sonpura was assigned the work in May 2023, he took a team of 25 people from Dhrangadhra to Ayodhya and set up a small factory there. He has recently also set up a backend factory in Ahmedabad where currently 7 people work.

 

The cost of carving a single Murti varies according to its height, and weight. It also depends on whether the statue is in a sitting posture or standing posture.

So far, Sonpura has created Murtis from 1.5 feet to 4 feet for the Ram Mandir and there may be bigger ones in the future. 

Sonpura has created sculptures at many temples so far including Pavagadh, Aradhna Dhaam Jamnagar, Khokhara Hanuman Morbi.

Over the last 9 months, Sonpura has been continuously travelling between Ayodhya and Dhrangadhra.