Sudarsan creates twin Santa Claus; says it’s world’s biggest

Odisha Sun Times Bureau Puri, Dec 24 Renowned sand artist Padmashree Sudarsan Pattnaik has created two huge sand Santa Claus and Jesus Christ with the message “Global Peace & Merry Christmas” at the beach behind Panthanivas in this tourist town of Odisha. Sudarsan used about 50 tons of sand and took about 22 hours to complete the 20ft high twin sand Santa Claus with Lord Jesus with help from fifteen students of his sand art institute.

The artist claims that it is the biggest Santa Claus anywhere in the world. “We will request the Limca Book of Records to recognise our sculpture as the world’s biggest twin sand Santa Claus,” said Sudarsan. Sudarsan has also created a sand sculpture of the heads of five countries – Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, US President Barack Obama, Russian president Vladimir Putin, India Prime Minister Narendra Modi and British Prime Minister David Cameron – with the message “Merry Christmas, Let Peace Prevail”.

With the tourist season at its peak on the eve of Christmas and New Year, hundreds of tourists thronged the place to have a look at the sand sculpture created by Pattnaik. Tourism and Culture minister Ashoka Panda inaugurated a state level sand art competition organised by Sudarsan in collaboration with the district administration and Odisha Tourism department.

Fifteen artists from different parts of the state, including Bhadrak, Balasore, Baragarh and Puri, will festival, which will continue till  Jan 1, 2015. Puri collector Aravind Agrawal was also present on the occasion. The artists will showcase there talent in this solo competition. Every day, they will do different sculpture with a different theme, Sudarsan said.