Sudarsan Pattnaik Wins Gold Medal at International Sand Sculpture Championship
Renowned Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik won the Golden Sand Master Award and a gold medal at the International Sand Sculpture Championship/Festival.
An Overview of the News
The championship was held in St. Petersburg, Russia, from July 4 to July 12.
Twenty-one master sand sculptors from around the world participated in the event.
The theme for the championship was “History, Mythology, and Fairy Tales.”
Sudarsan Pattnaik was the only participant from India.
Winning Sculpture
Pattnaik created a 12-foot-high sand sculpture of Mahaprabhu Jagannath's chariot, accompanied by his devotee and poet Balaram Das.
Balaram Das, the author of Dandi Ramayan and a great devotee of Lord Jagannath in the 14th century, was known for his devotion.
Historical and Cultural Significance
According to legend, Balaram Das once tried to climb the chariot of Lord Jagannath during the Ratha Yatra but was not allowed by the priests.
In response, he carved statues of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Devi Subhadra on the beach and worshiped them.
The devotion of Balaram Das was so profound that the original statues vanished from the chariot and appeared at the place where he was worshiping.
Recognition and Past Achievements
Sudarsan Pattnaik was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India, the fourth highest civilian award in India, in 2014 for his contribution to sand art.
He received the People’s Choice Award at the Sand Sculpting World Cup 2014 in Atlantic City, US.
In 2019, he became the first Indian to win the Italian Sand Art Award at the International Scorrano Sand Nativity event held in Lecce, Italy from November 13 to 17.
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