Top billing for Anna in festival time

Etched on sand

Renowned sand sculptor Sudarshan Pattnaik and his team of students have designed a carving of Lord Ganesha, beside a praying Anna Hazare, near the BEML Kalamandir at New Tippasandra.

The text, “Pray with Anna for Lokpal bill,” is also carved next to the two figures.
Pattnaik said he wanted to celebrate the success of the Lokpal protest led by Anna Hazare.

“Anna Hazare has done a great job to make this land free of corruption. I believe that divine forces have a major role in initiating such a movement,” he said.

45 championships
Pattnaik has participated in more than 45 sand sculptor championships at the international level, and was the first Indian to bag the world championship title in 2008 in Berlin.

Recently, he also won the gold medal at the third Moscow world sand sculpture championship 2011. This is not the first Anna-inspired carving by Pattnaik. “I have already done three other sculptures for Anna Hazare,” he says.

“The whole world is looking to us after the protest,” he adds. The sculpture is five feet in height, and the work took up nearly 30 tonnes of sand, he says.

Assistants
Pattnaik was assisted by his students from the Sand Art Institute, Orissa, and have been on work since Monday to build the sculpture.

Nihar Ranhan Samantara, founder member of the Puja committee, says “Corruption is eating into our system. Though Anna Hazare is steering the movement in his own way, we thought of doing something different to add to the social cause. That is why we invited Pattnaik, who is also an Oriya, to this function.”

The committee wants to create awareness about the movement against corruption, he added. The exhibition will remain open for public viewing till Ganesha puja on Thursday. Details can be had at www.orissapujacommittee.com