St Petersburg(Russia): Renowned Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik has won the Golden Sand Master Award at the International Sand Sculpture Championship held in the St Petersburg city of Russia.
Pattnaik created a 12-foot depiction of a Sand Ratha (chariot) carrying Lord Jagannath and his devotee Balaram Das, a 14th-century poet. The Odisha artist received a gold medal for his sculpture.
The championship that was held between July 4-12 had a theme of history, mythology and fairy tales. A total of 21 master sand sculptors from across the world participated in this championship with Pattnaik being the sole participant from India.
The Indian Embassy in Russia extended their congratulations for Pattanik's win. "Congratulations to Sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik for winning a gold medal at the International Sand Sculpture Championship at St. Petersburg," India in Russia posted on social media platform X.
Balaram Das, the author of 'Dandi Ramayan' was a great devotee of Lord Jagannath in the 14th century AD. It is said that when Balaram Das tried to climb the chariot of Lord Jagannath to offer his prayer during the Rath Yatra festival, he was not allowed by the priests who insulted him. With great frustration and humiliation, he came to the beach (Mahodadhi) and carved the statues of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra on the Golden sand and started praying and worshipping these statues.
According to the belief, Das' devotion was so strong and deep that the original statues vanished from the chariot and appeared at the very place where Balaram Das was conducting his worship.
Meanwhile, Pattnaik reacting to his win in Russia said it was his dream to create a sand sculpture of Lord Jagannath on a foreign land. "I had a dream to create a sand sculpture of Mahaprabhu Jagannath and the founder of sand art Balaram Das, at a foreign land. The world-famous Ratha Yatra is going on in Puri, Odisha. So, with the blessings of Mahaprabhu, I have created a sand chariot of Mahaprabhu Jagannath during this festival," said Pattnaik.
The Padma Shri awarded artist has so far participated in over 65 International sand art championships and festivals around the world and won many prizes for the country. He said that his aim is to spread social messages through his sand art around the world.
