Sculptor plans hundred sand replicas of Taj world over

Bhubaneswar, Apr 11 (UNI) After his sand creations of the Taj Mahal created waves, eminent sculptor Sudarshan Patnaik plans to build 100 sand miniatures of the marble wonder around the world.

Patnaik's black Taj replicas, created using dark coloured sand in Agra during the concluding ceremony of the 350th year celebrations of the Taj Mahal last year, were a huge hit.

''I want to build 100 miniature replicas of the Taj Mahal in various colours, depending on the shade of the sand available in different countries. Apart from boosting our country's tourism, I would like to make the new generation aware about India's marble marvel,'' Patnaik told UNI.

He said getting permission from the countries was unlikely to be a problem as sand art was non-polluting. ''As you can understand, this is huge project. I have set up a 22-year target to complete it.'' The countries on his agenda include the US, Canada, Australia, England, Holland, Sweden, Denmark and Japan. ''All the 100 sand replicas of the Taj Mahal are not going to be located abroad. I plan to include major Indian cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore also,'' the artist said.

Patnaik also plans to make a golden Taj at Puri's beach. ''This is going to come up soon,'' he said.

Students of the Golden Sand Art Institute, run by Patnaik in Puri in Orissa, would assist him in his creative foray.

Patnaik has already participated in more than 27 international sand sculpture championships around the world and bagged several awards. He is the first Indian to win the international sand sculpting championship held in Berlin last year.

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