Jagannath sand sculpture created by artists in Balasore. Telegraph picture

Lord Jagannath and His siblings surfaced on sand in Balasore town after a group of sand artists created a chariot with deities seated on them, along with three other sculptures. Led by Tuna Behera, the group worked for about five days and created the sand sculptures in front of Gandhi Smruti Bhavan.

“I am fascinated by Lord Jagannath and the Puri temple culture and have been creating sand sculptures of the chariots for the past seven years. This time, more artists voluntarily got together with me and people from various walks of life extended their support and encouraged me,” said Behera. “About 20 truckloads of sand have been used to make the main sculpture. The sand art will remain in place till bahuda yatra,” he said.

People across age groups and professions admired the structure that is about 18-feet high.

“Tuna Behera is very creative. The sculpture has been made with a lot of patience and care. He has the ability to prove his talent in the national arena. A little encouragement can take him to new heights,” said Sridev, a local poet and social activist.

In Balasore, Tuna Behera is the first artist to showcase sand art creations, say local residents. Since 1999, he has been designing sand art of different forms on various occasions. “His imagination and work are praiseworthy,” said Kesu Das, a senior artist and cartoonist.

The sand art construction in the open space, called ‘Bali re Naibedya’, could only be completed on Saturday because of adverse weather conditions.

“As a kid, I had heard stories of poet Balaram Das creating sand sculptures of chariots with deities seated on them since he was not allowed to pull the chariots. It inspired me and I always wanted to work with sand, especially during rath yatra. It feels good to see devotees encouraging me,” said Behera.