Berhampur: Satya Maharana has completed making tiny chariots for the three deities — Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra — on rath yatra.

The 31-year-old artist is eyeing a world record for creating the smallest roadworthy chariots ever. It took 15 days for Satya to construct the three miniature chariots to find an entry into the Limca Book of Records.

“I have used only the teak and gambhari waste wood, which I collected from carpenter shops. I visualised the chariots for the three deities in Puri and tried to make miniatures of them,” said Satya.

The rath for Lord Jagannath measures 14 inches in height, nine inches in diameter and is fitted with 16 wheels, 4 horses and other parswa devatas.

The rath meant for Lord Balabhadra is 13 inches high, fitted with 14 wheels, 4 horses and other parswa devatas and has a diameter of six inches while the rath for Goddess Subhadra’s measures 12.5 inches in height, with a six inches diameter, fitted with 12 wheels, 4 horses and other parswa devatas.

“I have wrapped the top portion of each of the chariots with cloth in accordance with tradition,” Satya said. He has also used chalk pieces and soap cakes to make some sculptures on the wood.

 “I made three small chariots with sand measuring 15 to 17 inches high on the embankment of the Bijipur pond just ahead of rath yatra in 2010. In 2014, I experimented with three small chariots made of chalk pieces that were roadworthy.

ut when I rolled the chariots in Gosananuagaon, all of them broke. That is when I thought of making three small wooden chariots, which will be stronger and also wanted to make a world record in the process,” said Satya.

“Satya made earthen statues of Lord Shiv, Lord Hanuman and others when he was studying in Khallikote College in 2007 and he is very talented,” said his father Subash Chandra Maharana.

“Our three other sons - Sanjaya, Ajaya and Laxmi Narayan - are also very good in their craftsmanship,” said Satya’s mother Subashini.

Satya took part in the International Sand Art Festival held at Konark last year and his works on Swachh Bharat, Indian heritage and global warming were largely appreciated.

The highly-talented sculptor trained more than 200 students on sand art at a Raahagiri event in Berhampur earlier this year and intends to popularise and publicise the art and culture of Odisha in general and Ganjam in particular.

Text by Sunil Patnaik, Picture by Gopal Krishna Reddy