E-Paper
Pattnaik earns kudos for ‘BRICS art’ in sand
BHUBANESWAR: Sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik was jubilant after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other world leaders posed in front of his sculpture depicting monuments
BHUBANESWAR: Sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik was jubilant after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other world leaders posed in front of his sculpture depicting monuments famous to Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
“I felt honoured when BRICS leaders took a photograph in front of my sand art,” he said. The leaders spent 10 minutes looking at the sculpture, made by the 39-year-old artist, using about 45-50 tonnes of sand sourced from all the BRICS countries. It depicted the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China, Russia’s Saint Basil Cathedral, Brazil’s Christ the Redeemer, and the statue of Nelson Mandela from South Africa.
Born in the beach town of Puri in 1977, Pattnaik faced a tough childhood and the youngest of three brothers had to drop out of school because of poverty. He was attracted to sand art while playing with children on the town’s beaches. With no formal training, Pattnaik pursued the craft vigorously for years till he achieved finesse and slowly raised the quality of his art to earn accolades.
His first international break came in 1998 when his art was exhibited at London’s Earls Court during a world trade fair.
Since then, Pattnaik has participated in over 50 international championships making sculptures as varied as the Taj Mahal to those depicting world peace.
The biggest moment of his career came in 2008 when he won the title of the world champion at Berlin’s USF World Championship to become the first Indian to win the gold medal.
Pattnaik, who was awarded the country’s fourth highest civilian award Padma Shri in 2014, is also a record five-time winner of the people’s choice award at Berlin.
