Rajastapathi Kaliappa Goundar

Rajastapathi Kaliappa Goundar has worked in bronze, stone and cement for nearly fifty years, making sculptures and restoring temples. In 2026 he was named for the Padma Shri in the field of art, from Tamil Nadu ^[1].

Training

Goundar was born on 13 March 1961 in Kannankurichi village, Salem district ^[2]. From 1975 to 1977 he trained at the Poompuhar art metal centre in Salem under the master craftsman Vaidyanatha Stapathi ^[2]. At sixteen he joined the Poompuhar design centre in Chennai ^[2]. In 1981 he set up his own workshop, Balamurugan Bronze Arts, in Salem ^[2].

Sculptor

Trained in the old shilpa and agama rules for temple images, he has also created new designs within those rules ^[2]. His 3.5-tonne Ananda Narthana Ganapathi, made for a museum in London, is now displayed at Poompuhar in Chennai ^[2]. He has made sculptures and worked on temples for Malaysia, Singapore, England and Canada ^[2]. He presented a brass nagabharanam to the Brihadeeswara temple in Thanjavur at the request of the Thanjavur palace ^[2].

Restorer and teacher

He has renovated more than 100 old temples that had fallen into neglect ^[2]. He has trained more than 50 young people as craftsmen and runs a trust that helps elderly artisans and their families ^[2]. During the Covid-19 pandemic his workshop served meals to about 30,000 government workers around Salem for some 50 days ^[2].