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A master piece in soap
stone showing a graceful image of Vishnu with his wife
Goddess Laxmi, seated on his lap. They are in romantic
mood. Done by award winning sculptor from Orissa.
Lord
Vishnu, the Preserver and Protector Of the Hindu gods
and goddesses, Lord Vishnu embodies goodness and mercy.
He is represented seated on the serpent Shesha. Vishnu
never sleeps and is the Hindu deity of Shanti, peace. He
has four weapons or attributes: the conch, disc, club
and lotus. In the cosmos, good and evil forces are
balanced. When this balance is disrupted, Vishnu takes a
human form to set it right. There are nine avatars or
incarnations of Vishnu. These are Matsya (fish), Kurma
(turtle), Varaha (boar), Narasingha (lion), Vamana
(dwarf), Parasurama, Ram, Krishna, Buddha. Kalki is the
future incarnation which is to come at the end of
Kaliyuga.
The stone carving tradition in India is one of the
richest in the world. Stone carving is an ancient
activity where pieces of rough natural stone are shaped
by the controlled removal of stone. Art of Stone Statues
and Collectibles is the poetic expression of stone
craft. Sculptures of Hindu deities, modelled on
classical prototypes, continue to be made in many parts
of India. In Tamil Nadu such sculptures are made in
granite. In Karnataka, exquisite figures carved in
relief in black stone, with details engraved in fine
lines, come out in greyish- white against the black
surface. Softer stones are used in Orissa, which are
easy to carve. The fully carved jali-worked, in
Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, are most intricately done. The
artisans in Gujarat are engaged in the art of cutting
and polishing semi-precious stones. One can see the life
like images being skill fully sculptured in different
varieties of stone across the state. In Jaipur, white
marble is used for carving out statues of gods and
goddesses as well as animal and human figures.
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