A Gandhian Shilpkaar

Happy 150^th Birthday dear Baapu!

To celebrate this day, I found my companion in a true Gandhian. He is just five years away from hitting a century, but age is just a number for him. Recipient of Padma Bhushan & Padma Shri award, he is also the designer of world’s tallest statue – the Statue of Unity (SOU).  Recently, the Time magazine declared SOU amongst Wold’s 100 great places to visit. 

He swears by Gandhian virtues like – self-discipline, faith, simplicity and hardwork. The personality of my interest is – a dreamer, a fighter, a believer and a passionate sculptor, Ram Vanji Sutar, who has sculpted more than 400 statues of Mahatma Gandhi, for various prominent sites across the globe. 

I met him at his studio in Noida, UP. Spread across 2000 sq yard, bustling with action, his studio looked like an otherworldly parliament in session, with the statues of leaders like Ambedkar, Indira Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Shivaji, Pandit Nehru, Atal Behari Bajpayee, Mahatma Gandhi standing as tall as 25-feet-high, looking at each other in varied expressions.

After waiting a bit longer than an hour, we met Sutar. And then he took me around his studio gallery, where more than 100 of his statues, in various stages of completion, were displayed.

“Humara ek alag prem raha hai Gandhi ji se. Jab hamein pata chala tha, ki unki goli maar kar hatya kar di hai. Hum rotey they,” said Sutar. He even had the privilege of meeting Gandhi himself, when he was just seven years old. “Gandhiji ne videshi vastu ka bahishkar karne ka andolan shuru kiya tha. Tab Gandhiji Dhule ke paas ek gaoon main aaye they. Humne makhmal ki topi pehni hui thi. Hammein yaad hai, woh topi humare sir se utaar kar jala thi gayee thi.”

 Interestingly, his sculpting career too began with a monument of Mahatma Gandhi, which was commissioned to him by his schoolteacher. “I was 23 years old, when the teacher of my school in Dhule, saw my drawings. He found my work detailed and intrinsic. Phir ek dum hi hummare adhyapak ji ne humse poocha, ki kya tum murti bana sakte ho. Hamein pata nahiin kyun, par humne haa keh diya. Aur aisi hi ek murti bana di.” Mr Sutar showed me the replica of that statue. One of a rare expression, the Gandhi of his imagination at the age of 23, looked like an effervescent giggling grandpa.

May be his teacher could foresee his passion for art. His teacher insisted that he should take admission in JJ School of Art in Mumbai. His teacher even took care of his fee and lodging at his relative’s house in Mulund. When he appeared before the admission committee of JJ School of Arts, they liked his work so much that he was taken in the second year straight away. “Hummare pitaji ke paas paise nahi they, hamein samajh nahi aa raha tha, Mumbai jaise bade sheher main kaise rahenge. Parantu apne parishram par vishwas tha!” 

The power of self-belief – another virtue of Gandhi.  As quoted by Baapu himself  – “In a gentle way you can shake the world”

Soon after graduation, Sutar was informed about a restoration job at Ajanta & Ellora caves. For next four years, Sutar stayed deployed at the caves, restoring one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, to its full glory. Then he joined DAVP for a brief period. Meanwhile, he heard a major agricultural exhibition was going to be organised at the Pragati Maidan in Delhi. “Pata nahi kyun, par humare dimag main aisa idea ayaa ki hammein ek kisaan ki murti wahan lagani chahiye. Toh humne ek kisan ki moorti banayee, aur humne uss exhibhition ke prbandhak ko dikhayee.  Unhe woh murti itni pasand ayee… woh idea inta pasand aya ki unhone humne aisi do murti banana commission kiya.”

 Sutar got this job, for a sum in Rs 15000. In those days this wasn’t any small sum of money. But there was a twist in this tale waiting to take shape. “Jaise hi DAVP main hummare director ko pata chala, toh unhone kaha, tum aisa nahii kar sakte. Kyunki tumhari sarkari naukri hai toh tum koi doosra kaam nahii kar sakte.” Sutar told me, with a childlike expression on his face, “hummne kaha, hum subah naukri kar lenge aur raat ko murti bana lenge.” But to his dismay, this was not allowed. Soon he was asked, “aap choose kariye naukri karenge ya murti banayenge. Hamein aisi dhun lagi thi ki humne kaha – Naukri Nahiin Chaiye.” The replica of the same statute is still placed in the gallery of his studio. As we walked closer to that farmer couple statue, he said with extreme fondness, “look at this farmer couple standing hand-in-hand, they are gleaming with pride holding their freshly cut crop.”  Sutar said that he had realised that his true calling was creating these larger than life statues.

And that brought me to a popular thought of Gandhi that I read once — “Happiness is…. when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”

He then took me to a standing statue of curvaceous lady, like the one’s portrayed in Hindi mythological films, standing with two little boys. I asked, the story of that statue and he started “as soon as the job at the Pragati Maidan got over, and I was faced with the big question – what next? Naukri thi nahiin, aur kaam bhi khatam ho gaya tha!”

Even at the age 94, Sutar remembers all the dates and the names of the people he had worked with. While talking to him, I almost felt as if I have transcended to that era with him. “Humaare ek jaankar ne kaha ki Labour Ministry main kaam chal rah ahai. Wahan koi kaam aa sakta hai.” He went and met the officer, but sadly there was no job for him. But his fate was waiting to take a big leap of faith.  At the same time the officer received a call from the office of Gandhi Sagar Dam in Chambal enquiring for an artist to a make memorial at the site. The officer referred Sutar’s name for the statue. During the site visit, he learned that the Rajasthan government was not allowing for its foundation to be laid in their state. Apparently, it took two years for the two state governments to reach a consensus and it was decided that the dam would be shared by both the states.  Sutar was asked to make a statue of Devi Chambai. He suggested that he wants to make statue of Devi Chambai standing with two little boys representing Rajasthan and MP as her two sons, who are being protected and served by her. “Yeh soch sabhi ko bahut achi lagi. Hamein kaam mil gaya. Humne site visit kari and proposal diya ki hum 40 foot lambi moorti banayenge. Officer ne humne dekha aur kaha, mere paas sirf Rs 10000 ka budget hai. Jo karna hai karo.” Rs 10,000 was not enough for a structure of this magnificence. “Hamein laga yeh kaise hoga. Par soch liya that toh karna tha. Humne haan keh di.”  Sutar could complete the project in one year. I asked him how he managed his personal finances since he had his wife and son to look after. “Kharcha hi kaya tha. Rehne ka intzaam to project officer ke bangle main hi ho gaya tha.”

He proved the importance of yet another Gandhian virtue – simple living high thinking. I was immediately mesmerised.

This statue was inaugurated by Pandit Nehru. Pandit Nehru, not just appreciated his work, but also tagged him as one of the greatest sculptors of India.

While talking to him I was attracted to a statue where Gandhiji can be seen with a boy and a girl, standing on either side, holding a dove emerging out of a globe. This is the smaller version of the statue situated at the main entrance of Gandhi Smriti in Delhi. One of the kids looks affluent with neatly combed hair and proper clothes, while the other kid can be seen wearing frayed overlay.  I questioned him about it, and he said, “Gandhiji aspryusht nivaran ki padhati follow karte thhey. Iska matlab hain sab jan samaan ho… humari dharti bhed bhaav se mukt ho. Koi bada aur koi chota nahi hai. Jo shakti shaali hai usey jo bhi usey neechey hai uska saath dena chaiye. Iss murti main bhi yeh do bachche do alag paksh dikhate hain. Parantu Gandhiji ji ka premm dono ke liye ek samaan hai. And the dove shows that if this preaching is practised, it can bring peace in the society.”

Sutar remarked with reference to the global politics, “the developed nations should support developing nations with responsibility and harmony. This can make our world a better and peaceful place for our future generations.”

“Asprayusht nivaran” Yet another Gandhian philosophy put to practice by Sutar.

I could have continued talking to him, but he likes to keep his day planned and busy. And by this time, there was a group of officials from UP University waiting to meet him.