He chucked MBA and carved out a dream career

Sculptor Arun Yogiraj recounts his journey

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the statue of Adi Shankaracharya at Kedarnath on Friday, city-based sculptor Arun Yogiraj, who watched the proceedings from Mysuru, was overcome with mixed feelings.

Though there was a sense of joy of having successfully completed the task, it was supplanted by grief over the recent death of his father – B.S.Yogiraj Shilpi - from whom Arun had inherited the family tradition. His father was a recipient of many awards including the Amarashilpi Jakanachari award instituted by Karnataka Shilpa Academy and the Karnataka Rajyothsava award.

An MBA from the University of Mysore, Arun Yogiraj trained for six months in the HR Department of a private company. “But I listened to my inner voice and abandoned the private sector job without much thought and returned to Mysuru to carry forward the family tradition’’, he said.