Mahabs wood sculptors give Tamil touch to Ram Temple

MAHABALIPURAM: As the work on the Ram Temple in Ayodhya is going on in frenetic pace for its much-awaited consecration that is just weeks away, a group of wood sculptors sitting hundreds of miles in Mahabalipuram are equally busy putting finishing touches to their masterpiece: the doors of the temple that open to devotees.

While the overall architecture of the Ram temple is mostly inspired from Nagara Style, a style of temple architecture popular in Northern, Western and Eastern India, especially in the regions around Malwa, Rajputana and Kalinga, all the doors of the temple, including the ones in the sanctum sanctorum, are designed by Tamil wood sculptors who have given the temple a touch of the famous South Indian architectural style.

“Tamil woodcarvers based in Mahabalipuram have designed 44 decorative wooden doors made of teak wood. These include the front door of the Ram Temple entrance, doors of the sanctum sanctorum of Lord Ram, doors of Goddess Sita sanctum and the sanctuaries of Pariwar Swami, Lord Lakshman, and Lord Hanuman,” said Ramesh, who leads the 40-member team of expert carpenters from Mahabalipuram.

According to Ramesh, designs like two elephants raising hymns and flying eagles are carved on the doors, made in long-lasting teakwood sourced from the Balharshah forests of Madhya Pradesh. The sculptors said they have used copper plates and gold plates to ensure longevity.

“We are working day and night to install the completed wooden doors in Ram Temple,” he said.

The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, a special body set up for construction and management of the temple, is planning to hold the consecration ceremony of Lord Ram Lalla’s idol at the sanctum sanctorum on January 22.