Progress on the Yesti for Iraivan

Last year this carving of the yesti for the temple was started. This first image is a cement model of it created by Dr. Ganapathi Stapathi, a pioneer lecturer of Government College of Architecture and Sculpture, Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu. He had met Gurudeva while he was lecturing in the college, long before Iraivan was even thought of. The final slide is the state of the stone today, as it nears its completion.

An exceptional artist, he is truly a master sculptor and an authority for Traditional Sculpture.

This is the closeup of the head. It\

s such a beautiful model and is a great challenge to replicate in stone. '

Here is Silpi Andiappan working on the stone\

s early stages last January, forming the basic outline of the yesti.'

Silpi Raman is also worked on the rough cutting. After this level of block reduction and outline formation, the work was taken over by the highly skilled ornamental carvers.

And here it is today. The main detail work left to be done is the swan design on the side panel.

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