Odia Sculptor Adwaita Charan Gadanayak Feels Empowered After Winning Padma Shri Award

Adwaita Charan Gadanayak, a renowned sculptor from Odisha's Dhenkanal district, has been honoured with the Padma Shri for his outstanding contribution to art.

Gadanayak has spent his career sculpting with black granite stone and said that receiving the award has been a powerful source of encouragement and empowerment.

The Padma Shri Awardee said, "Nothing can be bigger for an artist than this (award) after working for 45 years. It seems like a river after changing its course many times finally meets the sea. I feel the same. So the award is like that, it encourages you to go ahead. It gives us the power that every artist needs. For the first time in Odisha, a contemporary artist has been awarded with Padma Shri Award."

Gadanayak is acclaimed for his iconic stone carvings, including Mahatma Gandhi's Salt March, the central monument at the National Police Memorial, and the Subhas Chandra Bose statue at the National War Memorial.