An artist creates sand art for a cause

Creative musings

Subala Maharana, who calls himself a friend of sand art, belongs to an ordinary family from Odisha. Due to financial concerns and time constraints, the artist has not been able to pursue his passion full-time. However, despite all odds, he remains devoted to sand art and continues to create awareness about various social issues through his art, in and outside his state.

Currently, his work is on display outside the Odisha pavilion at the ongoing India International Trade Fair 2015. In a conversation, he tells Metrolife how his love and devotion towards sand art grew over the years.

“I have been making sand art for around 11 years now. And this is not my profession, this is my hobby,” says Maharana, who is also an employee of the State Bank of India.

Pointing towards the sand art he created as a tribute to the victims of the Paris attack, he tells Metrolife, “I created this piece today (November 15) and it took me two hours to complete it. The one above it took around three hours.”

His passion has taken Maharana to many places including Puri, Visakhapatnam, Bodh Gaya, Puducherry, Ahmedabad, Gopalpur Sea Beach Festival, Godavari Festival, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai, and he has also won many awards for the same.

Apart from creating sand sculptures, the artist also does sand animation. “This is done on a piece of glass by using fingers. We can easily narrate a story through sand animation,” he says.

Intrigued, we look up sand animation videos that have gone viral on social media portals like Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter. With a theme music in the background, every sand animation conveys stories on incidents like the December 16 gang rape and more. There are also videos of sand animation being shared during special occasions like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and Daughter’s Day.

“These videos are created in a mere time-span of 10-15 minutes using just one kg sand,” says Maharana.

According to him, maximum sand art in India still takes place in Odisha. “Many sand artists from Odisha have travelled across the world, spreading messages of social concerns through the medium of sand,” he adds.

Taking us back to a century, Maharana explains how sand art started in India. On a spiritual note he says, “On the sea shore, Baldev, one of the very devoted followers of Lord Jagannath started this art while on his rath yatra. This might not be a fact, but this is what is said about the birth of sand art in India.”

The artist also creates ‘sand painting’, which he explains is done by mixing sand with
different colours, and then put into frames. About sand sculptures, he says that equipments like wooden sticks and some water is needed for the sculpture’s detailing
and rigidity. But it isn’t for money or for any benefit that he pursues sand art. He does for social concerns and keeps looking out for opportunities to create sand art for the public. “Wherever there is a mela or any such event, I go and create art. And the astonishment and love that I get from art lovers encourages me to continue with it,” he says.