KARIMNAGAR: The decades old art of stone carving in the Ramadugu mandal is fast waning due to lack of support from officials as wells as government. The apathy met at the hands of officials has forced several young sculptors to move out in search of a better livelihood.
Dating back to the Kakatiya rule, sculptors were in much demand. However, with the passage of time, there were not many takers ofor their sculpting skill.
In the late 1960s, S Venkata Chary, a sculptor, tried to revive the art form. He began motivating the local sculptors in 1969, and the art flourished for a while.
However, over the period, sculptors started moving out of this field and took up different jobs.
Shekalla Harihara, a sculptor from Ramadugu, said, “Not only government apathy, but the unavailability of Amrutha Shila, a smooth stone which can be carved easily, has forced the sculptors to opt for other means of livelihood. Meanwhile, of late, demands for carvings on red stone and marble has gone up. To meet the demand, red and black stones are being brought in from Jammalamadugu, Kadapa in AP while marble comes from Jaipur, said Harihara .
At present, only 40 sculptor families eke out a living from the art form. They work from sculptor centres which are being run as small scale industries.
A sculptor Ravindra Chary appealed to the government to take steps for protecting the waning art form and ensure loan facilities and other welfare schemes for sculptors.
A Disappearing Art
Ramadugu sculptors are famous for making idols of gods and goddesses
Sculptors use Amrutha Shila (special stone) for carving idols
Due to lack of support from government, sculptors are leaving this field in search of better livelihood opportunities