Mysore/Mysuru: City-based sculptor Arun Yogiraj, who shot into fame with the sculpting of Balak Ram idol for Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, has said that sculpting of Balak Ram idol has given him a sense of utmost fulfilment and expressed his happiness that sculpting  has enabled him to do something memorable for the nation.

He was speaking at the Thathaiah Memorial Lecture Series-2025 titled ‘My experience as the sculptor of Balak Ram idol at Ayodhya Ram Mandir’ organised by Anathalaya at its Annapoorna Nilaya on Narayana Shastri Road in city recently.

Sharing his experiences during the sculpting of Balak Ram idol, Arun Yogiraj said, he got the opportunity of sculpting Ram Lalla idol following the appreciation for his earlier sculpting of Sri Shankaracharya and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.

“I faced the challenge of sculpting Balak Ram idol which has expression, beauty and decoration as per the Shastras. I completely withdrew myself from the worldly affairs with the intention of focusing on my work. Sculpting is a hard work which demands patience, total concentration and dedication. We need to spend a lot of time with stone,” said Arun Yogiraj and recalled the cooperation of his family members during this period.

“In life, success should not be a one time affair. Success should flow like a river and we should aim for success in whatever we do. Success is all about optimum utilisation of our opportunity and time. There is no short route to success. Perseverance is the only way. Hence, students must achieve their goal through perseverance and dedication,” he added.

Continuing, he said that he hailed from a family of sculptors and was naturally drawn towards sculpting along with studies. “After completing my MBA, I discarded all employment opportunities and dedicated myself to sculpting with love and ambition to achieve something. As a reward, I had the opportunity to interact with the Prime Minister of our country. It was a big challenge to sculpt the idol of Sri Ram with a child’s face as none of us have seen the face of Sri Ram when he was a child.. It was really a big challenge to visualise and sculpt Balak Ram idol and was not sure how people will react to my work. I was blank when I started the work but later interacted with children and studied them which helped me to sculpt the face and body of Ram Lalla,” concluded Arun Yogiraj.

Anathalaya President C.V. Gopinath, Vice-President N.V. Dinesh, Secretary H. Ashwathnarayana, Coordinator Dr. Murali and others were present.