112 years old heritage house

K.Mohanraj, 46, is a well known bronze sculpture in the famous bronze town of Swamimalai in South India. He is a sculpturist with a Doctorate in Iconography. In the family, the art is passed on from generation to generation, a tradition that dates back to 3 hundred years. K.Mohanraj learned the art from his father, S.Karunanidhi when he was 13 year old.
K.Mohanraj has dedicated his life to bronze art and many of his bronze statues have found their way all over the world. The UNESCO office in Paris has some of his creations. He and his father have currently created around 8,000 idols, following a family tradition of making bronze icons that goes back centuries.
Art is all about passion and dedication . when Mohanraj was asked whether science and technology had changed and improved the quality of the icons, he smiled and with his hand keeping on his heart , said , “Quality comes from here.”                                         

Mohanraj has maternal feelings toward the deities he makes. He said this process always makes him nervous, for him each and every mould is a child. Whenever Mohanraj makes a model and covers it in a mould, he doesn’t know what is inside, and eagerly and nervously awaits the birth of a new icon. Mohanraj says, “we are the mother of the statues” , it shows again how much they are emotionally involved in making the icon.They are the one because of whom today culture is living. When a sculptor decides to make the wax model, the idol is infused with a spark of jeevan (life); when it is cast in metal it is half alive. When we draw the eyes it is three-quarters live but when it is placed in a temple and pujas are performed becomes a live being," the stapathi .
Now, it has become something else, it is out of his hands and the newborn has become immortal.