On Republic Day 2024, renowned sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik once again did what he does best - create sand art dedicated to India's 75th Republic Day celebrations. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Mr Pattnaik shared a picture of his colourful sand art at Odisha's Puri beach. He created the sculpture with fruits and flowers. The artist installed capsicums, flowers, oranges and lemons in the sand sculpture with the message "Happy Republic Day" and "Mera Bharat Mahan hai (My India is great)".
Along with the image, Mr Pattnaik wrote in the caption, "Greetings on the occasion of 75th #RepublicDay of India. My installation Sand art at Puri beach with the message, #MeraBharatMahan . Jai Hind!"
Take a look at the picture below:
Since being shared a few hours ago, the sand art has caught the attention of many on social media. Several users flooded the comment section with "Jai Hind" and "Happy Republic Day".
Mr Pattnaik regularly shares photos of his artwork on Twitter. Earlier this week, he also unveiled sand art on freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at Red Fort in New Delhi. His artwork even earned appreciation from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Mr Pattnaik, on the occasion of Parakram Diwas, created the sand art to commemorate the 127th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Around eight tonnes of sand and 500 steel bowls have been used to make the 7-foot tall sand sculpture, he said.
"Yesterday, it was a great honour for me. Hon'ble PM Narendra Modi ji visited and appreciated my sand art of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on Parakram Diwas at Red Fort, Delhi," the Odisha-based artist said in a statement on Wednesday. "It was a gracious moment to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and be appreciated by him. The PM said 'Jai Jagannath' as we met," Mr Pattnaik said.
Also Read | 'Nari Shakti', India's Military Might To Highlight Republic Day Parade
Meanwhile, as India celebrates Republic Day today, the parade at the Kartavya Path in Delhi will be 'women-centric', indicating the roles played by women in various sectors. For the first time, the parade will be heralded by 100 women artists playing Indian musical instruments. The parade would commence with the music of Sankh, Naadswaram, Nagada, etc. to be played by women artists. French President Emmanuel Macron is the chief guest at the parade.
The theme of this year's Republic Day is 'Viksit Bharat' and 'Bharat: Loktantra ki Matruka', which symbolise the country's aspirations and its role as the nurturer of democracy.
