Sudarsan to carve 100 chariots on Puri beach

Bhubaneswar: Renowned sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik has embarked on a journey to carve 100 chariots on the Puri beach this year. So apart from the grand wooden chariots, visitors will get a glimpse of the state's famous sand art during the nine-day festivity.
"Twenty students of my institute and I started working on the 100 chariots from Friday. It will be completed on Monday, two days before Rath Yatra.I am eyeing a place in the Limca Book of Records," Sudarsan told TOI.
Sudarsan, who has been making sand art related to Rath Yatra every year, said he has already got the approval of the Limca authorities. His team is spending nearly four hours on this everyday. Some of the chariots will be three feet to five feet high.
"The chariots will be in a standing position on the beach. This will be a big draw for tourists. We have erected a giant overhead tent to prevent rain from damaging the works," said Sudarsan, who recently won a gold medal at an international championship in Moscow.
Sand art is believed to have originated during the Rath Yatra in the 16th century. Legendhas it that Balaram Das, a staunch devotee of Jagannath and celebrated 16th century poet, was once humiliated by the servitors and not allowed to pull the chariots during Rath. He then went to the beach and sculpted chariots on the sand. It is said his chariots moved on sands whereas the real ones on the Grand Road (bada danda) in Puri got stalled. The king, Prataprudra, came down to Das to apologize to him and pull the chariots.