Sand artists from Odisha making waves in world

Sand artist Subala Maharana was on cloud nine last December when he won the first prize at the International Sand Arts Competition held at Konark beating several competitors from the state as well as other parts of the country.

The event, which was organised alongside the annual Konark Dance Festival, was sponsored by the Tourism and Culture department of the Government of Odisha.
He did not have to rub shoulders with participants from other countries as the competition was divided into two categories -- Indian and international.

Also, he was lucky as he was not taking on Indian stalwarts in the trade like internationally-acclaimed sand artist Sudar­san Pattnaik (he was playing the role of a brand ambassador for the event). Still the bank employee-cum-sand sculptor was very happy as he was winning his maiden title in an international event.

“It was really a memorable day for me. I was delighted when my name was
announced as the winner in the Indian category at the competition”, said Maharana.
Like Maharana, another sand artist from Odisha, Manas Sahu had stunned TV viewers across the country sometime back through his sand art images while participating in a reality show on a national entertainment TV channel.

Bollywood seniors like Kirron Kher and Sonali Bendre who were judging the competition were mesmerised by the efforts of Sahu and his associates. Not only Maharana and Sahu but also several other upcoming sand artists from Odisha are slowly emerging as important players in the art form, which is rapidly gaining popularity within India as well as at the international level.

“Earlier, we were hearing only about the achievements of Sudarsan Pattnaik. Now, it seems others are hogging the limelight. Odisha has certainly emerged as the sand art capital of the country,” said Himansu Sahu, a sand art enthusiast.

Sand art, which has its origin in Odisha, dates back to 14th century when Balram Das, a non-Brahmin poet and devotee, created a sand replica of Jagannath, the presiding deity of Puri temple, after he was denied entry into the 12th century Hindu shrine.

However, the art has got its due recognition only during the last couple of decades, thanks to the individual talent and efforts of artists like Sudarsan Pattnaik, who has won many national and international awards.

He has to his credit three world championships and his name figures in record books ten times for his unique sand creations on the sea beach of Puri and in other places across the globe.

These individual glories and the growing popularity of the art form has now prompted the Odisha government to promote sand art and encourage budding sand artists through the Konark International Sand Art Competition, which had its inaugural edition in 2011. “The basic aim of the event is to promote sand arts and bring upcoming sand artistes to
limelight through an international platform,” maintained Sanjib Patra, assistant director in the Odisha Tourism Department.

But artists and observers are of the view that the state government should do much more to promote the art. First, the government should initiate steps to set up a sand art park where sand structures of different artists can be kept for display for visitors and tourists throughout the year. At present, the artistes create their structures on the sea beach of Puri and other places only during special occasions.

“The government should set up a sand art park with Gurkul concept. The park can also play the dual role of a centre of learning for the students of the art,” said Pattnaik, who himself had made an attempt to set up such a park in Puri with government help but had not succeeded because of red-tape.

“They have provided me a piece of land in Puri which is unsuitable for such a park,” said the internationally-known sand artist who now runs a sand art school on his own in the coastal town called Sudarsan Sand Art Institute.

It has already produced over 400 students. Manas Sahu who earned a name for himself for his wonderful display in the TV reality show is one of Pattnaik’s students.

Pattnaik said if the government decided to set up a sand art park it would give a major boost to the tourism sector in the state because of the growing popularity of the art form.
To prove his point, he gave the example of the heavy turn out at the Konark International Sand Art Competition in December. More than five lakh tourists witnessed the event. The visitors’ turnout during its first edition in 2011 was over four lakh.

Concurring with Pattnaik, Subala Maharana said: “Recently, I was invited to display my creation at a show in Udaipur, Rajasthan. And the response of the visitors to my work was unbelievable. I was not expecting such a huge appreciation,” he said, adding that the Odisha government should take advantage of the growing popularity of the art form and think of out of the box ideas like the sand art park, which has the potential to give a major fillip to tourism.