Sand sculpture in Orissa for Obama

BHUBANESWAR - Sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik Thursday created a sand sculpture of US President Barack Obama on a beach in Orissa to welcome him to India, the artist said.

Obama is scheduled to arrive in India Saturday. He will be in Mumbai and New Delhi Nov 6-9.

“Today (Thursday), I created a 5-foot-high sand image of Obama’s face along with flags of India and US wishing for a stronger relationship between both the countries,” Pattnaik told IANS.

“I have also created many Diyas (lamps) around the sculpture to wish Obama on the occasion of Diwali. I, along with my students, used 10 tonnes of sand and spent five hours to create the sculpture,” he said.

“I have created more than 10 sculptures of Obama in India and abroad. Some of them were created when he was elected as the US president and when he got the Nobel Peace Prize.

Pattnaik said he has a great desire to meet the president and present him the photographs of the sculptures he created in the past.

Pattnaik has participated in 42 international sand sculpture championships across the world.

He presented a sand animation at the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi. Last month, he won three medals in sand sculpture championship in the US.