G20 Summit: All you need to know about 27-foot-tall statue installed at Bharat Mandapam venue

The magnificent Nataraja statue has been installed in front of the Bharat Mandapam at the ITPO Convention Centre in Pragati Maidan, where the G20 summit will be taking place on September 9 and 10.

Reportedly, the huge statue weighs around 18 tonnes and is made up of “Ashtadhatu” or eight metals. The Ashtadhatu comprises 87 percent of Copper, 10 percent of Zinc, 3 percent of Lead and traces of Tin, Silver, Gold and Mercury along with Iron.

The statue has been created at a cost of around Rs 10-12 crore by the renowned sculptor Radhakrishnan Sthapaty of Swami Malai, Tamil Nadu. It took him and his team nearly 7 months to complete the structure. As reported by the Indira Gandhi National Centre of the Arts (IGNCA), Radhakrishnan used the traditional way of wax casting process following cannons and measurements to create the statue. The process has been mentioned in the Hindu text, Shilpa Shastra, which elaborates on the making of Nataraja since the 9th Century AD.

The Nataraja sculpture is a representation of Lord Shiva that symbolises immense artistic, religious and spiritual significance. This representation of Lord Shiva explains the blend of philosophy, art, craft and science. This statue of Nataraja, an important symbol of cosmic energy, creativity, and power, is going to be an attraction at the G20 Summit 2023, according to IGNCA.