Youth’s rangoli on Nagarjuna Besha, social issues wins hearts

JAGATSINGHPUR: While the pandemic dashed hopes of many who wanted to witness the Nagarjuna Besha of the Holy Trinity in Puri, a 23-year-old youth from Nalibar village under Raghunathpur block of the district has won hearts of locals by recreating it through a 15-ft-long and 8-ft-wide rangoli.He usually does rangoli illustrations to create awareness on coronavirus and other social issues. 

A postgraduate student in biochemistry from Ravenshaw College, Sourya Prakash Nayak is drawing local visitors to witness his ‘jhoti’ and rangoli art on religious mythology, social issues and the current Covid-19 situation. 

The young artist has capitalised on occasions like the Rath Yatra and Nagarjuna Besha to attract devotees who can not only get a glimpse of the divine but also be made aware of many other things like WHO guidelines on Covid-19, the importance of wearing masks, social distancing and hand hygiene. 

“On Rath Yatra and Nagarjuna Besha, devotees were eager to get a glimpse of the deities amid the prevailing crisis. I thought this is a good time to awaken our sense of humanity and spirituality through my art form,” said Nayak who started evincing interest in rangoli art since the age of 8. 

Nayak has also made rangoli illustrations on issues like energy and environment, safety of women, planetary sciences. “I have not undergone any training but am thrilled to use my artistic skills to make a difference,” he said.

Praising Nayak for using art as a medium of change, a teacher from his locality said,”This is a creative way of inspiring locals to effect positive changes in society.”  

A recipient of many district and State-level prizes, Nayak has bagged the first position in a national-level rangoli competition organised by Rashtriya Kala Manch in Bhubaneswar in December 2019 and 11th rank in International Rangoli contest organised by Lions Club of Gandhinagar in November 2020.