In Yadadri, Brilliance attains Brilliance

A sculpture and spiritual healing awaits devotees to reopen on March 28 after massive renovations at the Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple in Yadadri. The icing on the cake is the setting of 52 intricately designed golden kalasas atop the gopuram.

Designed and gold plated by Chennai-based Smart Creations, the kalsums are made of NanoTech Gold Deposition (NTGD) technology, which allows for low consumption of gold. It enhances the affordability of projects by reducing the usage by about 5 grams per square foot.

“Unlike conventional gold coating, the thickness of the gold layer is reduced to a micron using this method. This is achieved through electroplating of gold on a suitable metal substrate, preferably copper, which increases its conductivity. Known for. Initial copper electroplating ensures a smooth and uniform finish. This can also be replicated with silver electroplating. Product longevity is also ensured as gold plated rather than applied as a coating The final product is much lighter and easier to handle than the products coated through conventional methods. The best part is that the gold deposited through this method is 100% recoverable at any point in time.” Mr. Pankaj Bhandari, founder of Smart Creations, says, who has been involved in the work of renovation and beautification of temples in the country and abroad.

ensure longevity

The state-of-the-art nanotechnology used in making Swarna Kalasam is also used in NASA/ISRO defense applications and equipment. Mr. Bhandari says, “We use the same techniques but adapted to spiritual realms for validation and longevity. Additionally, our gold coating is protected from surface damage by a hard lacquer coating. Hence, Our artworks can be passed on to generations looking good. Brand new.”

Gold usually loses its luster after 15 years of plating. The Telangana government was keen on a 50-year warranty on gold plating. Smart Creations studied and took ideas from temples across India – Dharamsala, Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Siddhi Vinayak Temple in Mumbai, Amritsar Golden Temple and Sabarimala Temple. “We considered environmental and religious factors before figuring out what works for the temple,” says Mr. Bhandari, an ISB-Stanford alumnus. “I managed to take pictures of it a few decades ago and now to study how the luster of gold has changed. I sat down with chemical scientists to find out what we needed to do with the copper-gold migration technique. How to finish and how gold is needed. Gold is interconnected between two layers to achieve the mandate’s 50-year warranty.”

rule-bound

Smart Creations had hired architect Ravindran Sthapathy, a 35th generation artisan, to design the Kalasams. Ravindran ensured that the rules of Agama Shastra were followed while designing. “As per the spiritual measure, 52 kalashas are hand-beaten on copper shields and then gold-plated in our factory and delivered back to the temple,” says Mr. Bhandari.

Stating that this is a special project for his company, Mr. Bhandari admits that he has never been involved in such a temple renovation. “We have been selected in a process that has been scientific which makes it special to us and what is amazing about the way the Telangana government has come up with a document on what the selection process should be.”

Smart Creations has worked on over 100 temples in India, worked on over 10,000 sculptures, restored over one lakh idols, including gold plating of a flagstone at Virudhnagar Church in Chennai and Sri Jeerawala Parshvanath in Rajasthan. The Jain Tirtha Temple comprises of more than 60 Dhwajastambhs. NTGD technology.

Smart creation diversified in 2014, to extend NTDG technology from temples to worship halls – prayer places within homes. “A lot of prayer places have been designed and implemented by us using NDTG technology. Deity, kuthuvilakkuand other decorative items.”