The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Deft hands of sand artist present a perfect wedding gift

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Feb 07, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Deft hands of sand artist present a perfect wedding gift

M. Sai Gopal

Subala Maharana works wonders with just two truck loads of sand

PRICELESS ART: Renowned sand artist Subala Maharana from Berhampur, creating a river-sand sculpture at a marriage hall in Hyderabad on Tuesday. — Photo: Mohd. Yousuf

HYDERABAD: The wedding of Alka and Madhu at Droupadi Gardens in Agapura on Tuesday night will be a memorable one for everyone . Not for the glitz, glamour or dishes served but for a three-feet high sand sculpture.

The sand art piece sculpted by Subala Maharana, depicting a temple on top, Ganesha on one side, Siva and Parvati on the other will indeed be cynosure of all eyes.

Novel showpiece

For the novel showpiece at the wedding hall, all it needed was two truck loads of sand and of course the deft hands of Subala Maharana, the sand artiste, who had come all the way from Berhampur of Orissa.

"I was invited here by a friend to prepare art piece for the bride and the groom as their marriage gift. This is the first time I have come to Hyderabad and felt very happy when public reacted in awe and admired the work," he says.

"This particular piece took over 12 hours to complete. Here the river sand is pretty coarse and that's why the finish is not all that good. Beach sand is pretty refined and adds more value to the final product," he explains.

Sand art shows

Mr. Maharana is among a clutch of artistes, including the renowned Sudarshan Patnaik of Puri, who took up the mantle of popularising sand art among masses. He conducted several sand art shows in Visakhapatnam, Bangalore, Mysore, Delhi, Kolkata and elsewhere.

The artiste, a State Bank of India employee, points out that in addition to teaching the art form to students, he attends conferences to showcase the art form.

"It is a difficult art form as getting soft beach sand is impossible in most of the places. I only work for admiration and respect for my work and not for any financial gains," he says. He can be reached on 094370-59039.

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