The Sunday Press, under the head "A Day for Cymbals and Chants" gave a favourable description of the previous day's parade. As devotees read Prabhupada the article, he recalled the beautiful statue of Lord Caitanya carved for the parade. Everything about it, he said, was perfect.
"Who has made?" he inquired, and the devotees informed him that it was Dhaumya dasa.
"This boy is very good." he said, and asked someone to bring Dhaumya to his room.
The carving of the statue had proven a great technical challenge for Dhaumya, and he had done much research before attempting the job. His final method had been an ingenious one. He decided to carve the form in separate pieces out of blocks of polyurethane foam. Each section was subsequently painted with a special epoxy resin and cold electroplated to form a beautiful metallic coating. Then the features were painted and long hair, dhoti, shawl and garlands were added. Finally, the pieces were joined together with pins and brass hooks.
As Dhaumya entered the room, Prabhupada congratulated him. "This is very good. We should make more like this." Prabhupada complimented Dhaumya on the perfect proportions of the Deity. The arms were the correct length, his face was moon-like in proportions, and his chest and legs were just right.
"You have done very well", he said, and again requested Dhaumya to carve similar statues for use in Ratha-yatra parades all over the world.
- From "The Great Transcendental Adventure" by HG Kurma Prabhu
You need to be a member of ISKCON Desire Tree | IDT to add comments!
Comments