Apart from the World Kannada Conference, Yogiraj received invitations from various other organisations in the USA, which he accepted. Despite submitting all the necessary documents, including the income tax returns filed and attending the interview, his visa application was rejected without apparent reason.
The eminent sculptor mentioned his daughter’s excitement about the trip and promised to take her elsewhere in the country instead. With the planned departure on August 30 approaching, he decided not to reapply for the visas, as securing another appointment in time seemed unlikely. He also expressed uncertainty about qualifying for an emergency visa.
When asked about the visa denial, Mysuru MP Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar said he had already spoken to Arun Yogiraj and described him as “a national treasure.” Wadiyar pledged to discuss the issue with a central minister to gather more information.
The US Embassy’s rejection of the visa application comes in light of Yogiraj’s notable accomplishment—sculpting the Ram Lalla idol for the Ayodhya Ram Janmabhoomi Temple consecrated in January 2024. A fifth-generation sculptor with an MBA from the University of Mysore, Yogiraj left a corporate job to continue his family’s artistic legacy.
In addition to the Ram Lalla idol, Yogiraj has created other prominent works, including a 12-foot Adi Shankaracharya in Kedarnath and a statue of Subhas Chandra Bose near India Gate in Delhi. His other sculptures include a 21-foot Hanuman statue in Mysuru, a 15-foot statue of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Swami Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, and a monolithic Nandi statue.
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