Mysuru: In a remarkable achievement, a 22 feet tall Ganesha idol made of sea shells and conches by an artist from the cultural city has entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the ‘largest sea shell sculpture’.

Radha Mallappa, a native of Hullahalli in Nanjangud and an Ayurveda healer, spent Rs 6 lakh to shape the idol. The sea shells and conches were procured from Rameswaram and Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu and also from Singapore and Hong Kong.

Radha said that she had used 420 kg of sea shells and worked for about four hours a day for four years to build the idol. She also informed that no artificial colours were used to make the idol.

The idol is hollow as the sea shells and conches are glued together without any base underneath. One can take the idol to various places for exhibition as the idol can be disassembled and assembled again.

Radha said that she was well supported by her husband and family members. She started the work on the idol after applying for the Guinness records in 2012. Officials from the Guinness Book of World Records from Germany, South Africa and the United States visited her house and recorded the progress of the idol.

Taj Mahal, Shivalaya, Penguins, Hanuman in Ravan’s Durbar and the Buddha under the Bodhi tree are a few of the idols she had made in the past.

Radha has now plans of building a museum in Mysuru to display her works.