In Orissa ,a unique type of art form which is developed at Puri has spread all over the world . To carve a sand sculpture , the raw material is the only clean and fine grained sand mixed with water . With the help of this type of sand and with the blessings of God and by the magic of fingers , an artist can carve a beautiful and attractive sculpture on the beach.
This art is almost 700 years old and the story associated with the origin of sand art is once Poet Balaram Das, the author of Dandi Ramayan, who was a great devotee of Lord Jagannath tried to climb on the rath(chariot) to see Lord Jagannath but was not allowed by the priests, so with a lot of frustration he came to the beach (Mahodadhi) and carved the statues of Lord Jagannath , Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra on the Golden sand . Then there he started praying and worshipping these statues . His devotion was so strong and deep that the original statues vanished from the chariot and appeared at that place where Balaram das was praying.
This story has no historical evidence but People of Puri associate this story with the origin of sand art.
With the upliftment of tourism, this wonderful art form has high prestige and is very popular. Appreciation of tourists encourage the artist to do well. Without any motive, these artists have dedicated their life for the development and popularization of this art. By their dedicated efforts they have been able to achieve international Acclaim.
Sudarsan Pattnaik is the best in the business with his magical fingers and tremendous innovative potential. He runs "Golden Sand Art Institute " which is an open air institute in Puri Beach behind Mayfair Hotel started in the year 1995.Students take courses in sand art here and even tourists can take basic 7-10 days familiarization course. Beautiful gallery on the beach can be observed in the beach in the afternoon from 4-6 P.M.
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{K:70138} 2/5/2008
