Life-size silicon statue of Sharanabasawappa Appa installed at Sharnbasaveshwar Shrine in Kalaburagi

KALABURAGI

A life-size silicon statue of the eighth Mahadasoha Peetathipathi of Sharnabasaveshwar Samasthana and Chancellor of the Sharnbasva University Sharanabasawappa Appa installed at Sharnbasaveshwar Shrine in Kalaburagi has become the cynosure of all eyes.

The statue of Dr. Appa in a seating posture was carved by Bengaluru-based sculptor Anand Bilagi, who is a specialist in sculpting bronze, fiber, wax, and silicon statues. It has been placed in the shrine for the benefit of visitors and devotees to have a darshan and seek blessings at the time when Dr. Appa will not be available for physical darshan.

“It was a challenging task to bring all the features of Dr. Appaji in their true form and give the feeling of a real person to the statue. I took around four months to design and sculpt this statue,” said Mr. Bilagi who visited the Dasoha Mahamane twice to meet Dr. Appa and take measurements.

Mr. Bilagi, who has sculpted the life-size statues of Noble laureate Mother Theresa, Siddaganga Mutt seer Shivakumar Swamy, B.R. Ambedkar, Vallabhbhai Patel, the Dalai Lama, Charlie Chaplin, and others for a Mysuru-based museum, has also sculpted a silicon statue of Abhinava Shivaputra Swamy of Vijayapura and other statues for private collectors.

Mr. Bilagi said the statue was sculpted using imported medical-grade silicon.