MYSURU: With Sugar Minister Geetha Mahadevaprasad inaugurating ‘Kalashree’, a museum of beautiful structures and sculptures made of seashells and conchs here on Sunday, tourists have another attraction in Mysuru city now.
Radha Mallappa, an artist and owner of the museum, has made 160 sculptures of different gods, structures of Taj Mahal, Church and among others using seashells and conchs. This 54-year-old artist has dedicated her whole life in making these beautiful models. Radha also holds the Guinness World Record for making a 11-foot-tall Ganesha idol using seashells and conchs.
Speaking to Express, Radha said she has been doing the art work for the last 25 years and it took seven years to make the structure of Taj Mahal and eight years for the church. “I have spent around `4 crore to make 160 models using seashells and conchs. Each seashell costs `8,” she said.
Sourcing seashells from Kanyakumari, Rameshwaram and from foreign countries, Radha has used thousands of kgs of seashells to make different sculptures. Around 420 kgs of seashells and conches were used for the Ganesha idol itself, she added. Radha said for the Ganesha idol, some seashells have been imported from Singapore and `6 lakh has been spent. “I want to make structures of all the seven wonders of the world using seashells but don’t have space to keep it in our museum. So as of now, I don’t have any plans of making new sculptures or structures,” she added. Jayadeva K, a businessman, who visited the museum, said: “The lighting and colours used on the sculptures are very beautiful. I have never seen such big sculptures made of seashells. This museum looks like a historical place.”
Another visitor Manikanta V, an engineering student, said the museum will attract more tourists because it is situated on the Chamundi Hill Road and there is also a sand museum on the same road.