Apart from the famous Rameswara Swamy temple, this sleepy village in West Godavari district has got its fame from the sculptures made here. Thanks to the Udayar family from Karnataka.
The statues standing tall in various hues and shapes at the manufacturing plant of the Udayar family, attract the attention of passersby on the Tadepalligudem-Narsapur road in the district.
According to Aruna Prasad Udayar, his forefathers migrated from Mysore in Karnataka to showcase their art in the Nattarameswara Swamy temple at the village, a century ago.
His grandfather Arunachal Udayar was adept in making the idols Gods and Goddesses.
His father, Kesava Rao Udayar extended the canvas to crusaders of social justice such as B.R. Ambedkar. It was like a call of duty for him when Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi were assassinated in the mid 80s and early 90s respectively. He was flooded with a large number of orders for making statues of the two leaders from various parts of the country.
His sons took a cue from him and made thousands of the statues of matinee idol and TDP founder N.T. Rama Rao and former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy for installation across the State.
“My grandfather used to make idols with panchalohas and the height of each one was limited to one feet. By the time the art reached me, the material used in making statues was upgraded to bronze casting and it got a hi-tech touch with a blend of computer graphics and multi-media applications,” Mr. Aruna Prasad explained.
During his period, the art transcended the country’s borders following an order for making the statues of Sri Venkateswara Swamy, Padmavatamma and Alivelumangamma for installation at a temple in London.
“The largest size of the statue with a height of 111foot was that of YSR for installation at the Bramhani Steels. It was not installed due to the arrest of Gali Janardhan Reddy, who placed the order,” he said.
Aruna Prasad happened to be instrumental in coining the name Telangana Talli, and also reinstallation of 12 statues of the Telugu icons, which were demolished by Telangana activists during an agitation on Tank Bund in Hyderabad.
