Bhubaneswar, Oct. 17: Sand artist Sudarshan Patnaik has caught the attention of world leaders with his art depicting the famous monuments of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa at the Brics summit in Goa.
The heads of the states visited the sculpture created in the lobby of a five-star resort and also posed for pictures. Taj Mahal was the monument representing India, while the other sculptures representing the other participating nations include the Great Wall of China, Saint Basil Cathedral of Russia, Christ the Redeemer of Brazil and the Statue of Nelson Mandela of South Africa.
"I felt really proud when Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally described various elements of the sand art to the visiting leaders. They spent around 10 minutes near the sculpture," said the 39-year-old artist.
Patnaik affirmed that 45 tonnes of sand was used to create the sculpture.
"Sand from all the five countries was used to build the sculpture. It was a matter of honour for me that the governments of all the countries took the trouble to send the sand to India," he said. The sculpture took around three days to complete. "Five of my students assisted me in the process," Patnaik said.
Through the art, the aim was to spread the message of unity among the nations. "The design was finalised after scrutiny by all the five countries. I am happy that the hard work has paid off and the guests have liked it," he said.
People around the world shared pictures of the sand art on Facebook and Twitter.
"I am glad today that sand art is globally popular and the presence of the art form at the Brics summit will give more exposure to it," said the Limca Book of Records holder for creating the world's longest Santa Claus in 2005. Patnaik first took to sand art by sculpting structures on the beach when he was only seven. He received the Padma Shri in 2014 and is the founder of the Golden Sand Art Institute.
Most of his sculptures portray current world issues such as environmental crisis, famous festivals, national integrity and religious tolerance. "I will travel to London next for the World Travel Market in November. We will create a sculpture on behalf of Odisha tourism to showcase our culture and heritage," said the artist.
