Bhubaneswar: Globally acclaimed artist Sudarsan Pattnaik of Odisha has won the Golden Sand Master Award and gold medal at the International Sand Sculpture Championship held at the iconic Peter and Paul Fortress in Russia’s Saint Petersburg.
“With the blessings of Mahaprabhu Jagannath I have won Golden sand master award at International sand sculpture championship/ festival at St.Petersburg, Russia by creating a 12ft sand sculpture of Mahaprabhu Jagannath’s Chariot and His devotee Balaram das,” the renowned artist said in a post on X.
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has congratulated Sudarsan for winning gold medal in the international championship held in Russia.
In a statement, the Chief Minister said that Sudarsan’s unique talent has fetched fame for him and also made Odisha proud. The eminent sand artist has demonstrated his skills in many national and international competitions, Majhi said. “We hope he will continue to do so in future,” he added.
The competition was held from July 4 to July 12 and 21 master sand sculptors from around the world participated in the competition. Sudarsan was the lone participant from Inda.
The theme of the competition was History, Mythology and Fairy Tales. Sudarsan created a 12-foot high sculpture where he depicted Lord Jagannath sitting on the chariot and his devotee Balaram Das.
“It had been the dream of my life to recreate Lord Jagannath’s Rath Yatra in a foreign land. Now, Rath Yatra is underway in Odisha and here we recreated the chariot of Lord Jagannath. My sand art won praise for the country,” Sudarshan said in a video message.