BHUBANESWAR: The 77th Indian Independence Day celebration at Times Square, New York, had a special Odisha connection this year. A replica of the iconic wheel of Sun temple at Konark was installed at Times Square as part of the Indian Independence exhibition organised by the Indo-American Arts Council, New York City and the Consulate General of India in New York.
Commissioned by Michelin Star chef Vikas Khanna, the intricately carved sculpture (8ft x 6 ft x 1 ft) weighing 1,750 kg has been done entirely in sandstone by artisans of Lalitgiri village in Cuttack district. It has been sculpted by artist Amaresh Kumar Bindhani and his team.
“I have been visiting Puri to witness Rath Yatra since 2008. During one such trip, a visit to the Konark temple was a life-changing experience for me. I was completely awestruck with the beauty of the majestic temple. It was my sister’s dream to showcase the rich heritage of our country like Konark to the world through my restaurant. It took almost five years of dreaming, planning, coordinating and executing this dream project,” said Khanna, who has named the sculpture ‘Chakra’.
It was inspired by Sudarsan Pattnaik’s sand replica of the Konark wheel that he had created at the Japan Sand Museum in 2019.Khanna chose sandstone as the medium for the project to provide a glimpse of what Odisha’s artisans accomplished with Konark temple in the 13th century with just their hands.
“Handling a 4,000 pound stone is not easy. People gave me the option of doing it with plaster of paris and cement but I preferred sandstone because the original work is in sandstone. Also, I want our future generations to know that our stone craft isn’t lost yet,” he said.
Khanna added the intricate piece of sculpture from Odisha is an example of India’s rich contribution to the field of arts. “I am amazed at how much of art lies in this one state and its blessed artisans are not even loud about their craft,” he said.
The sculpture will be displayed as a symbol of unity between the Indian diaspora and America in Khanna’s upcoming restaurant at New York in 2024. The Konark wheel is the first in the series of five sculptures from different parts of the country that the acclaimed chef will be installing in his restaurant.