The year 2025 brought many blessings to Adwaita Gadanayak, the director general of the National Gallery of Modern Art, as he received the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award in India.
As a passionate sculptor, Gadanayak made India proud in Japan when he was invited by Osaka-Kobe, the Japanese Consulate General of India, to visit Japan and make three sculptures in six months. These sculptures were later installed in several places in the country.
Gadanayak has also worked on several important projects in India, including the Dandi March sculpture in New Delhi’s Raj Ghat and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s statue at the India Gate. In a conversation with The Morning Standard, the veteran sculptor shares his journey and how he got started.
‘Stones are my friends’
“My connection with stones started from Neulapoi, a village in Odisha’s Dhenkanal district, where people worshipped stones as a part of nature. In my childhood, like other villagers, I also grew up with the same habit. One day I was shocked to know that people can learn about stones in art colleges. After that, there was no going back. I pursued courses in multiple art colleges in Odisha, Delhi, and London, and became friends with stones,” says Gadanayak, tracing the beginning of his journey.
Although the veteran sculptor started early, his relationship with stones matured while making the Dandi March sculpture. It was the first time, he says, that he got to know “that stones have gender and that it is important to handle them accordingly”. He notes: “Female stones are strong. The texture is fine and a metallic sound originates from it. The character of the male stone is exactly the opposite. So we make female statues with male stones and male statues with the female ones.”
Statues of national figures
Gadanayak was involved in making statues of several historical figures like Mahatma Gandhi and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. “It was a challenge for me as I had to work with a big black stone. I took my team there and did everything, from handling to transporting the big stone. The same challenge I felt while making Subhas Bose’s statue as representing his mountain-like persona became a task for me. I wanted to make a statue that would make the entire country proud,” says Gadanayak, who used black stones in both statues as he believes black represents “the mother of all colours” and it makes the work beautiful.