THE ARCHITECT OF THE VISION

To ensure that nothing but the best went into the project, the Sanghis retained the services of Shri Ganapathy Sthapathy, the renowned sculptor. Among his noteworthy creations are the temples in New York, Pittsburg, and Chicago. The only recipient of the prestigious Padmashri Award for temple architecture, Shri Ganapathy Sthapathy conceived the entire architecture in Chola and Chalukya styles. Right from selecting the site for the temple complex to the location of each temple and determining the measurement of the deities, Shri Ganapathy Sthapathy followed the Shilpa Shastra meticulously.

Sthapati was born in 1927 to sculptor Vaidyanatha Sthapati and Velammal in Pillayarpatti, a village near Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu, India.

Sthapati attended Dr. Alagappa Chettiar College, Karaikudi, and graduated with a degree in mathematics. After his graduation, he became a Sthapati at Palani Murugan Temple, Palani, Tamil Nadu, India. He resigned this post after the death of his father, who had served as principal of the School of Architecture and Sculpture at Mamallapuram from 1957 to 1960. He succeeded his father as the Principal of the Government College of Architecture and Sculpture, TN, India. From the 1980s, Sthapati campaigned to restore and elevate the status of traditional Hindu architecture in modern Indian society, by affiliating courses to the University of Madras and offering degree courses, bringing about a revival of Vastu Shastra. After retirement from government service, he established the Vaastu Vedic Trust and the Vaastu Vedic Research Foundation, aimed at research, development, and globalization of Vaastu Shastra.