Original by Rupa Kisore dasa (see below), rewritten by Uddhava, edited by Surabhi kunja.
At one of Kadamba Kanana Swami’s meetings with devotees, someone mentioned his footprints and if he would be comfortable making an impression of them, to which Maharaja exclaimed: “Ooh yes, Rupa Kisore can take care of that!” The funny thing was that I was not present when Maharaja mentioned my name and I actually had no clue about how to make an impression. But at the end of February 2023, during his final days, we decided to go ahead and make an impression of his feet. Adi Kesava went to Kadamba Kanana Swami to inform him about the arrangements and if he would be fine to do it that day, or any day. “Today,” Maharaja stated.
When I entered his room I moved closer, trying to explain the process and how the impression would be done. I was really wondering if it would be possible to make the impression seeing that Kadamba Kanana Swami was really weak. But he still managed to sit on the black chair next to his bed. The molding trays were brought in and ghee was applied to his feet to prevent the mold from sticking. The mold was applied carefully and pressed down while Maharaja was sitting in his chair. Krishna Kirtan proved to be a big help in this process.
As soon as the impressions of both feet were made, the next step was creating the actual molds. So we started the search for a nearby laboratory in Vrindavan. And in utter despair we found one along the Parikrama marg, not far away from the goshala gate. The casts were quite crude and needed extensive polishing after which the rich details would be revealed.
Now that the polished casts were ready, the next step would be to create a 3D model. Once back in Mumbai, we scanned the casts into a 3D model, and with the aid of photographs and videos we added more fine details to complete a detailed digital model of his feet. The completed model was transferred to the CNC machine. This is an automated drill that creates an actual impression from a block of the highest quality brass which weighed a whopping 27 kg. The milling program slowly moved over the brass block and carved out the impression. It took about 46 hours to carve out the impression of beautiful feet. The final weight of the impression was 9.5 kg. (Guru means heavy).
After one year of research, two failed attempts, and many polishing steps, we finally completed this merciful task and had his feet ‘in our hands’. And this task would not have been successful without the help of Krsna Kirtan Prabhu, Adi Keshav Prabhu, Svayam Bhagavan prabhu and other friends for all the help. I thank you!
But mostly I thank my spiritual master for his amazing mercy and conviction in my abilities.
See also this post on the Samadhi inauguration and the installation of the impression
https://kadambafoundation.com/tirobhava-samadhi-festival-inauguration/
