News Brief
Nishtha Anushree
Dec 14, 2023, 06:51 PM | Updated 06:51 PM IST
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The tallest depiction of a Hindu deity in Canada, a 55-foot Hanuman statue, is set to be unveiled in April next year. The statue, created by Rajasthan sculptor Naresh Kumawat and financed by the local temple administration, will be officially revealed at the Hindu Sabha Mandir in Brampton, Canada. The unveiling is set to coincide with Hanuman Jayanti on 23 April.
Notably, Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and has witnessed many pro-Khalistan activities in the recent past. The most recent was during Diwali when a mob of Khalistan supporters clashed with Hindus celebrating the festival.
Earlier, a poster targeting Indian diplomats was found outside the Bharat Mata Mandir in Brampton. At the beginning of the year in January, a Gauri Shankar Mandir in Brampton was defaced with anti-India graffiti.
Kumawat, renowned for his skill in crafting sculptures of Hindu gods, has constructed more than 200 statues in 80 different countries. In an interview with The Indian Express, he mentioned that the final details of the statue will be completed in the forthcoming summer months, in preparation for its unveiling in April next year.
Kumawat earlier built what was once the tallest Hanuman statue in Canada, a 50-foot structure at the Voice of Vedas temple, financed by a businessman.
In addition, he created a 75-foot mural of Samudra Manthan for the Central Vista project in the new parliament building in Delhi. This mural represents a crucial event from the Vishnu Puran in Hinduism, symbolising the stirring of the sea.
During the celebration of India's Constitution Day, a statue of Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, who led the committee responsible for drafting the Indian Constitution, was revealed at the Supreme Court. The statue, standing at seven feet tall, was crafted by the sculptor Kumawat.
The esteemed sculptor, Kumawat, is known globally for his significant works, having a wide-ranging experience across numerous countries such as the United States, England, Australia, Poland, Mauritius, Seychelles, Dubai, Oman, and Russia.
His impressive portfolio boasts of prominent figures like Swami Vivekananda, Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Rabindranath Tagore, Indira Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Nelson Mandela.
His significant creations include the 369-foot seated Lord Shiva statue in Nathdwara, Rajasthan, which is acknowledged in the Guinness Book of World Records.
He also sculpted a 156-foot-tall statue of Lord Hanuman in Solan, Himachal Pradesh, which is featured in the Limca Book of Records. Furthermore, he is responsible for the 108-foot Hanuman statue at the Jakhu temple in Shimla.
Nishtha Anushree is Senior Sub-editor at Swarajya. She tweets at @nishthaanushree.