Happy Makar Sankranti, Pongal, Lohri: Sudarsan Pattnaik's vibrant sand art at Puri beach - See pic

New Delhi: Renowned sand artist from Bhubaneswar, Odisha, Sudarsan Pattnaik makes sure to create vibrant and informative sand art sculptures at the Puri beach. On the auspicious occasion of Makar Sankranti, Pongal, Lohri and Bihu, he wished everyone with colourful sand art tribute. 

Sudarsan Pattnaik shared pictures of his creation on Twitter. Take a look: 

Greetings for #Lohri, #Magh #Bihu, #MakarSankranti and #Pongal!  pic.twitter.com/UT2NCZYBFn — Sudarsan Pattnaik (@sudarsansand) January 14, 2021

Unity in diversity...... pic.twitter.com/oALNOcHIca — Sudarsan Pattnaik (@sudarsansand) January 14, 2021

Makar Sankranti is known by different names in the country. If Northern belt calls it Makar Sankranti or Maghi, then in Maharashtra it is called Pedda Pandaga, in Magh Bihu in Assam, Poush Sankranti in West Bengal and Pongal (Thai Pongal) in Tamil Nadu, Uttarayan in Gujarat respectively. This year is being celebrated on January 14, a day after Lohri (Jan 13). 

Surya Dev or Sun God is worshipped on this day and prayers are offered to him for blessings and prosperity. 

The famous Bhubaneswar-based sand artiste is known for his marvellous creations. On all major festivals and important events, Pattnaik displays the beautiful creations at Odisha's Puri beach.

Sudarsan Pattnaik, who hails from Odisha, was honoured with the Padma Shri award in 2014. The renowned artiste started creating images on the sand at the age of seven and has designed hundreds of sand art ever since. He was also the brand ambassador of NALCO, India.

In 2016, Pattnaik won the people's choice prize for his sand sculpture titled 'Mahatma Gandhi - World Peace' at the ninth Moscow Sand Sculpture Championship.