Sudarsan Patnaik, an artist from Orissa, has been invited to the US to create a replica in sand of the Taj Mahal during a festival there later this month.
According to Patnaik, he will make the sand model at the Houston International Festival in Texas, to be held from April 23 to May
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"I will create on sand a replica of the 17th-century monument built by Mughal emperor Shahjahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal near the festival venue," he said.
Patnaik, who has won awards for his sand sculptures, teaches the art to 50-odd students in his open-air school in Puri. He has been creating sculptures on the city's beach since the past 15 years.