Muthiah Sthapati

Muthiah Sthapati is an Indian sculptor, architect and builder of Hindu temple architecture. He is known for the design and construction of several temples in the UK and US, including the Hindu Temple of Minnesota.[1] He is the creator of the 67.5-foot Buddha statue at Rambadagalla Vidyasagara Temple, in Sri Lanka, reported to be world's largest Buddha statue in the seated (samadhi) position.[2] The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian award of Padma Shri in 1992.[3]

Muthiah Sthapati
Born
Muthaiah Muthu Sthapati

(1941-12-14) 14 December 1941
Eluvankottai, Ramanathapuram District, Tamil Nadu, India
OccupationSculptor
Traditional architect
Known forHindu temple architecture
Children2 sons,3 daughters
Parent(s)Muthu Sthapati
Gowri
AwardsPadma Shri

Early days

Muthiah was born on 14 December 1941 at a small village named Eluvankottai of the Ramanathapuram District, near the temple town of Rameshwaram, in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu to a traditional architect, Muthu Sthapati, and his wife, Gowri, as one of their six children.[4] Apart from learning the art the traditional way from his peers, he underwent formal training in temple architecture, sculpting and town planning at Mamallapuram Sculpture School from 1957 to 1961.[1]

Muthiah is married and has two sons, both of whom are traditional architects and sculptors. His eldest brother, S. M. Ganapathy Sthapati, is a sthapati and also a Padma Shri recipient.[5]

Career

Temples

He has designed and constructed Hindu temples across the globe, 32 of them in the US itself.[1] The Sri Mahalaxmi Temple for Laxmi Narayana Trust in London,[6] Minnesota Hindu Temple, Arupadai Veedu Temple complex, Chennai, Sri Meenakshi Sundareswra Temple, Uttaraswami Malai, New Delhi, Sri Utthara Chidambara Nataraja Temple, Satara and temples at Houston, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Nashville, Boston, Atlanta, New York, Moundsville, Louisville, Miami, Oklahoma, Memphis, Dallas and Poughkeepsie are some of his notable constructions.[1]

Sculpture

He was the sculptor of the 60-foot granite statue of Shri Krishna at Birla Industrial & Technological Museum, Kolkata. On 30 April 2015, another of his oversize creations, a 67.5-foot Buddha statue was unveiled at Rambadagalla Vidyasagara Temple in Sri Lanka. The statue, with its pedestal measuring 7.5 feet, has a total height of 75 feet and is considered as the largest Buddha Samadhi sculpture in the world.[7] A 32-foot Hanuman statue at Nanganallur, Chennai and a Sankaracharya statue at Enathur in Kancheepuram are also his creations.[7]

He has also founded a sculptor's training studio, Swarnam Institution, and a business house, Swarnam Exporters, the latter an export house involved in the export of sculptures and idols.[8]

Awards and recognitions

The Government of India honoured him with the civilian award of the Padma Shri, in 1992.[3]

Controversy

Because of greed he along with KK Raja, the endowment officer in pazhani temple planned to steal and sell the priceless navabhashanam statue of the ever gracious god murugan. The conspiracy was bought out to light by IG Thiru. Pon Manickavel Ayya. Eventually they were arrested. Even though this plan of stealing the idol was stopped there has been not enough action against these criminals. Only a strict controlling of who we let in will solve these problems. These kind of people filled by greed are not fit to live. There are many other jobs existing if you are in need of money. What is more shameful than being a padma shri awardee and still you are cheap to steal and sell idols.

[9]


See also

References
  1. "Padmashri Muthiah Sthapathi, The Master Shilpi". Hindu Temple of Minnesota. 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  2. "Rambadagalla Samadhi Buddha Statue to be unveiled tomorrow". Government of Sri Lanka portal. 29 April 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  3. "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  4. "Padmasri SM Ganapathy Stapathy". Sree Sankara Silpa. 2015. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  5. "Our Temple Builders: Hindu of the Year 2012". Hinduism Today. 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  6. "Sri Mahalaxmi Temple" (PDF). Sri Mahalaxmi Temple. 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  7. "Chennai sculptor creates Buddha statue in Sri Lanka". The Hindu. 2 May 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  8. "Swarnam Exporters". Swarnam Exporters. 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  9. https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/muthiah-sthapathi-held/article23352536.ece
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