US refuses visa to Ayodhya Ram Lalla sculptor Arun Yogiraj 

The United States has denied visas to Ayodhya Ram Lalla sculptor Arun Yogiraj and his family. They had applied to visit an event by the Association of Kannada Kootas of America, World Kannada Conference-2024, which would be held in Richmond, Virginia. The US Embassy hasn't given any reason so far as to why it rejected the application. 

The Mysuru-based sculptor chiselled the ‘Ram Lalla’ idol consecrated in the newly constructed temple in Ayodhya in January this year. A fifth-generation sculptor, he was among the invitees to the grand consecration ceremony in Ayodhya.

An MBA from the University of Mysore, Arun Yogiraj trained for six months in the HR Department of a private company. But he once said that he listened to his inner voice and left the private sector job and returned to Mysuru to carry forward the family tradition.

Yogiraj had earlier sculpted the 12-foot-tall idol of Adi Shankaracharya, which has been placed in Kedarnath, and the statue of Subhas Chandra Bose which is installed near India Gate in Delhi.

The 21 feet tall Hanuman statue at Chunchanakatte in Mysore district, 15 feet tall statue of Dr B R Ambedkar, a white amritashila statue of Swami Ramakrishna Paramahamsa in Mysore, and six feet tall monolithic statue of Nandi are among the idols sculpted by him.
 

(With inputs from Nagarjun Dwarakanath)