Jasuben Shilpi or Jasu Shilpi (10 December 1948 – 14 January 2013) was an Indian

bronze sculpture Bronze is the most popular metal for Casting (metalworking), cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply "a bronze". It can be used for statues, singly or in groups, reliefs, and small statuettes and figurines, as w ...

artist. In her career she made more than 525 bust size and 225 large size statues. She was popularly known as "The Bronze woman of India".

Career

In her career Jasuben made more than 525 busts and 225 large bronze statues. Her works included statues of personalities such as

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British ru ...

Rani Laxmibai The Rani of Jhansi (born Manikarnika Tambe; 1828 or 1835 – 18 June 1858), also known as Rani Lakshmibai, was one of the leading figures of the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The queen consort of the princely state of Jhansi from 1843 to 1853, s ...

Swami Vivekananda Swami Vivekananda () (12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta, was an Indian Hindus, Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. Vivekananda was a major figu ...

and

Vallabhbhai Patel Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel (; ''Vallabhbhāī Jhāverbhāī Paṭel''; 31 October 1875 – 15 December 1950), commonly known as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, was an Indian independence activist and statesman who served as the first Deputy Prime ...

. Her sculpture works have been installed in Indian states including

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand (, ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the n ...

. She made a number of statues under a contract with

Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation Amdavad Municipal Corporation (AMC) was established in July 1950 under the Bombay Provincial Corporation Act (1949), is responsible for the civic infrastructure and administration of the city of Ahmedabad. History On 21 April 1831, the collec ...

which were spread all over the city. Her works of standing figures of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

and

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...

have been placed in Florida University, Jacksonville, Chicago and City of Charlotte, North Carolina.

Death

Jasuben died on 14 January 2013 after a severe

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...

. At the time of death she was 64 years old and had two children Dhruv and Dhara who are also sculptors. In her last days she was busy making a bronze statue of

Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema. He is often considered one of the greatest, most accomplished and commercially successful actors in the history of Indian cinema.* * * * * With a cinemati ...

. The work remained unfinished because of her death. Snehal Jadvani, an admirer of Jasuben's works told after her death–"She will always remain in our hearts."

Recognitions

In her career, Jasuben won several national and international awards and honours. She was popularly known as "The Bronze woman of India". In 2005, for her bronze statue depicting Rani Laxmibai riding on a horse her name was included in

Limca Book of Records The ''Limca Book of Records'' is an annual reference book published in India documenting world records held by Indians. The records are further categorised into education, literature, agriculture, medical science, business, sports, nature, adve ...

. Sculptor Dhananjay Mudholkar said of Jasuben – "She was one of a few women sculptors in the country whose work got wide spread acknowledgement and fame."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shilpi, Jasuben 1948 births 2013 deaths 20th-century Indian sculptors People from Gandhinagar district Women artists from Gujarat Artists from Gujarat 20th-century Indian women sculptors