A BLESSED CHILD OF GODDESS SARASWATI
Born in a poor carpenter family, on a wintry February day in 1925, in village
Gondur, distt. Dhulia of Maharashtra, Ram Vanji Sutar was endowed with all
the qualities of a blessed child. In a childhood beset with hard struggle,
the talent of this budding artist shone and was noticed by his guruji
Shri Shriram Krishna Joshi, who encouraged him to join the Sir J.J. School
of Art in Bombay. The inborn talent flourished, and Ram was always first class
first, bagging at the end of his course, the prestigious Mayo Gold medal
for modelling. This great sculptor now in his seventies, speaks with gratefulness
of his teachers under whose keen guidance he developed his drawing and clay
modelling skills. Ram has mastery over stone and marble sculpting, but he
delights in casting bronze and many of his most famous works are in bronze.
sculptures for the main gate of the Agricultural Fair.
His heroic size
bust of Mahatma Gandhi is one of his well known creations and copies of it
have been presented by the Govt. of India to foreign countries like Russia,
England, Malaysia France, Italy, Argentina, Barbados and Caracas on the occasion
of Gandhi Centenary Celebrations. A similar double heroic size bust made
for International Trade Fair Asia '72 is erected as a permanent feature at
Pragati Maidan in Delhi. Under his dextrous hands several eminent leaders
of India were immortalized in bronze and many of these adorn the Parliament
and other important Govt. buildings and public sites in different cities.The
statue of Govind Ballabh Pant overlooking Rafi Marg in New Delhi, a 10 feet
high bronze creation, is a testimony to Mr. Ram Sutar's creative genius and
displays his marvellous skill and flawless execution. The same is again exemplified
by the brilliant depiction of Godess Ganga and Yamuna at the
Rose Garden, Ludhiana and Mandi Gobindgarh
in Punjab. He created more than fifty monumental sculptures in the last forty
years of his productive career.
Many awards and honours
were bestowed on Mr. Sutar in recognition of his phenomenal achievements,
but the Padamshree conferred on him in 1999, is eloquent for them all and
for his eminence as well. His long cherished dream of a unique monument
befitting of the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi however, still awaits
fulfilment. His workshop in Delhi is no less than a museum of it's own kind,
with huge plaster of paris casts of eminent personalities as well as small
pre approval models abounding the place, giving the impression of somehow
broken the barriers of historical times and converging under one roof in various
sizes. However, many of his creations are scattered all over India and the
world or erected in inaccessible places like the parliament, and therefore
could not be enjoyed by people at large. Anil Sutar, his gifted architect
son struck upon the idea of showcasing them all together. He conceived and
landscaped a sprawling sculpture garden, called Anand Van a unique concept
in India, located on the Surajkund-Batkal lake road, where gigantic white
fibreglass replicas of Mr. Ram Sutar's creations are displayed against the
emerald green, rock studded lawns and the endless skyline. This aptly named
visual treat for crowd sore eyes is a befitting gallery for this great artist.
Indian Art Circle.com is proud to host
the official web page of Mr. Ram V. Sutar and wishes him several more creative
achievements.
[Personal Summary of Mr Sutar ] [ List of Major Sculptures by Mr. Ram Sutar]
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