This story is from February 6, 2016

Delhi is good, but Noida is home now, says sculptor Ram Sutar

Ram Sutar has been one of the foremost sculptors in the country and was recently conferred with the Padma Bhushan. Sutar, who has built some of the most prominent structures in the country, has been based in Noida for several years now.
Delhi is good, but Noida is home now, says sculptor Ram Sutar
Ram Sutar, the creator of the most prominent sculptures and structures in India, on being conferred with the Padma Bhushan, his creations in UP, including Noida's Dalit Prerna Sthal, and why he likes the city
Ram Sutar has been one of the foremost sculptors in the country and was recently conferred with the Padma Bhushan. Sutar, who has built some of the most prominent structures in the country, has been based in Noida for several years now.
In a chat, he talks about the significance of the honour, his preference for Noida over Delhi, and how UP has challenged him as an artiste.
Sutar, who has been sculpting since 1954, has received a number of honours in his long career, but says that the Padma honour is quite special. “It feels great to receive this honour. I have never been after awards, but when you get them, it always feels amazing. Every award has its own place, but this recognition is something rare, so it becomes all the more special. I was given the Padma Shri in 1999 and now this.
Some of my friends and well-wishers say, that by now I should have received more honours. But I believe ki jo bhi milta hai woh achha hai. I just want to continue working,” says Sutar, a Sector 19 resident.
Noida’s landscape boasts of a number of Sutar’s creations, most prominent of them being the statues at the Dalit Prerna Sthal on the banks of the Yamuna. Sutar tells us about his association with the city. “The Mayawati government had commissioned several projects in Noida that I made, including the Rashtriya Dalit Prerna Sthal and Green Garden. Ever since their completion, I like to stay here, close to the creations. My studio is here as well, and I find this city much more helpful for my work. Delhi is good too, but Noida is home now,” he says.

Sutar has worked on several projects in other cities in UP, including a bronze Ram Manohar Lohia statue in Etawah and the Ambedkar Memorial Park in Lucknow. He says, “UP has always provided me with a number of challenges and opportunities to work. My work here is more diverse and not limited to any one kind of genre.”
Sutar has been working for over 60 years now and has undertaken commissions for more prime ministers and state governments than he can recount. One would expect him to slow down after that, but as soon as you mention the word retirement, he quips, “Sawaal hi nahi uthta!” The 91-year-old adds, “I still have a lot left in me and I want to work till the time my health allows me.” Sutar works eight hours a day, six days a week. “I leave for my studio in Sector 63 every morning at around 10am. At the studio, I supervise all the work being done. I stay there till five or six in the evening. When I’m able to work this much without any problem, why should I think about retirement?” he asks.
Currently, Sutar is working on two big projects – Statue of Unity, the 600-foot statue of Sardar Patel to be erected on an island in river Narmada and a massive 630-foot statue of Shivaji in the middle of the Arabian Sea. These two will be the highest statues in the world, overtaking China’s 420-foot Spring Temple Buddha.
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