Hoskote sculptors chisel two jumbos for Queen’s birthday

BENGALURU: On a three-acre plot off Old Madras Road in Hoskote, east of Bengaluru, six sculptors are busy carving a pair of stone elephants, standing 3’6” tall.
Predictably, they have no idea whose order they are executing. The sculptors are readying the elephants for Prince Charles. Made of raw stone — Santhe Kalhalli grey granite — the elephants are bound for Buckingham Palace for Queen Elizabeth’s 90th birthday celebrations on June 11.
At Sri Sankara Silpa Sala, there are third-generation sculptors, Stapathis, who even design temples.“We have 70 sculptors in our centre. Six sculptors and designers are executing this order. We are very happy that Karnataka’s elephants will adorn the royal palace which gets visitors from all over the world. We will ship the elephants to the UK,” said NG Subramanya Babu, chief executive, Sri Sankara Silpa Sala.
It was during the previous visit of Prince Charles and wife Camilla to Dr Mathai’s International Holistic Health Centre, Soukya, that the Duchess of Cornwall noticed the stone elephants at the entrance. “With her brother being an elephant conservationist, she liked the structures and wanted details on getting some done for the palace,” said Dr Issac Mathai, integrated medicine specialist who founded Soukya in Whitefield.
Dr Mathai has been invited by the British royal family for Queen Elizabeth’s celebrations next week.
The elephant connection for the royals goes back to Camilla’s brother Mark Shand, a British travel writer and conservationist who worked in India for many years.
Incidentally, Queen Elizabeth visited the Kanchipuram facility of Sri Sankara Silpa Kala Sala on October 13, 1997. The elephants, all set to be shipped, are designed by G Shankara Stapathi, who heads the Silpa Sala. “To ready the elephants for her 90th birthday is indeed an honour for us and the state,” he said.
It was worth the 10-hour-a-day work schedule for the past month for one of the key sculptors, Kolandhai Velu.
“We didn’t know where these elephants were going. Like every sculpture we ready, I put my heart and soul into them. Now I’m glad they are going out of India, and the world will see our work,” said Velu, 43, who learnt sculpting from his seniors at work.