The team of artisans led by Varad Rajh at Thimmakudi giving finishing touches to an idol meant for a temple in Sri Lanka.
| Photo Credit: M. MOORTHY
A total of 28 meticulously crafted panchaloha idols of various Hindu deities sculpted at Thimmakudi village near Swamimalai in Thanjavur district are set to be installed in a newly constructed temple in Sri Lanka.
Made with a combination of five metals — copper, zinc, tin, gold and silver — the 28 beautifully carved idols are ready to be shipped for ‘Sri Kamakshi Ambal Devasthanam’ at Mayilampaveli in Batticaloa district in Sri Lanka.
The idols were made at the ‘Cast In Bronze Creative’ unit at Thimmakudi following a lengthy process. “The task of making the 28 panchaloha idols was entrusted to our unit and it took two years for completion”, said Varad Rajh, a first generation sthapathy and proprietor of ‘Cast in Bronze Creative’ functioning since 1998 at Thimmakudi.
Every idol displays the mastery of a team of 28 highly skilled artisans engaged in the unit proficient in casting, chiselling, engraving, designing, scraping, and buffing among others.
A nearly four-foot tall idol of Goddess ‘Varahi’ weighing around 180 kg and a three-and-half-foot high idol of Lord Nataraja weighing nearly 105 kg are among the mosaic of icons ready for despatch. The idols have been crafted by following the traditional pattern and as per Shilpa Shastra.
“Lost wax” process was followed in the making of the idols, said Mr. Rajh. Explaining the process in a nutshell, Mr. Rajh said the idols were first made in wax and packed with vandal mannu (clay) lifted from the nearby Cauvery.
“The mould is then kept in sunlight till it becomes dry. Thereafter, the mould is heated and the wax starts melting and gets removed. The mould is heated again. The five metals are melted and poured into the mould. The mould is broken once it cools down after 24 hours and we get the rough sculpture. The other processes are followed thereafter, including chiselling, filing, scraping, and engraving in order to make them captivating,” he said.
Kalasams made
Prior to this, the unit had despatched 100 gold plated ‘Gopura Kalasams’’ made of copper sheet of different height and four temple bells each weighing 250 kg to the new Lankan temple a few months ago. The artisans are now busy making idols of various deities, including that of Shiva and Parvathi, Anjaneya, Nataraja, and Ayyapan as the unit has bagged orders from the customers in the U.S., Spain, and Singapore.
The unit had exported idols to the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Malaysia, Singapore, Germany, and France in the past. It was at this unit that the 11-foot high idol of Lord Nataraja was made and installed at the CERN, the world’s particle physics research laboratory in Switzerland over 20 years ago, said Varad Rajh with a sense of pride. A 23-foot high panchaloha idol of Lord Nataraja made in 2022 has been installed at Sri Narayani Peedam in Vellore, he said.
Published – March 27, 2025 06:19 pm IST