Silpi Guru Dr. Raghunath Mohapatra

Born on 24^th March 1943 in traditional stone carver’s family in the temple town of Puri. Shri Raghunath Mohapatra has the unique privilege of being the descendant of illustrious sculptors who had fashioned marvels in stone like temples of Konark and Puri. True to the Odisha old tradition, Shri Mohapatra has magic in his finger.

With single minded devotion to the cause of stone carving Shri Mohapatra has by now acquired international repute. He has made in depth study of shilpa shastra from ancient palm leaves and traditional style of sculpting on the pattern of temple architecture of Odisha and is an acknowledged authority on stone carving.

Shree Mohapatra has now acquired international recognition and his sculptor adorns various prestigious centers in the country and abroad. He had privilege of being invited for the opening ceremony of Buddha shanty stupa in Japan in the year 1974. He is the proud recipient of prestigious award including (a) President award for stone carving (b) First prize in stone carving from Academy of Fine Art (c) First prize in stone carving in the annual exhibition of Odisha Lalit Kala Academy and (d) The prime minister special merit award on the occasion of 25^th Bharat Silver Jubilee of All India Handicrafts Board.

He has won wide acclaim for his prestigious exhibitions at Jahangir Art Gallery, (Mumbai) and Dabour House (New Delhi) as recognition of his contribution to art architecture he has been nominated as life time member of Bombay Art Society. In recognition of his sustained commitment to the cause of culture and sculpture, Shree Mohapatra has since been nominated by the Ministry of External Affairs, Govt. of India as a member of prestigious Indian Council of Culture Rlations (ICCR).

Shree Mohapatra is presently a member of Lalit Kala Academy and is president of All India Viswakarma Mahasangha, Bhubaneswar Branch. In the year 1976 he was honored with the coveted title of “PADMASHREE” by His Excellency the President of India. The year 2001 was a momentous year in his life when Shree Raghunath Mohapatra was honored with the coveted title of “PADMABHUSAN” by his Excellency the President of India.

In the year 2006 he was honored with the prestigious “SILPIGURU” Award from the Smt. Prativa Singh Patil and recipient of Shilpa Srestha Siromani from (USA). Once again he devout towards the profession acclaiming the title for 2013 as “PADMA VIBHUSANA” by the Highness Pranab Mukherjee the president of India.