Mysore Sand Sculpture Museum is the first

sand sculpture Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is usually defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural cl ...

museum in India, located in

Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

. It was inaugurated in 2014, with 150 sand sculptures on display, on a one-acre land at the base of

Chamundi Hills The Chamundi Hill is located 13 km east of Mysore, Karnataka, India. The name comes from the Chamundeshwari Temple at the peak. The average elevation is . Attractions The Chamundeshwari Temple is located atop the Chamundi Hills. Patron ...

. Each of the sculptures was created by sand artist MN Gowri and based on a theme such as Mysore's cultural heritage, wildlife and religion.

History

After dropping out during the second year of her

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

course, MN Gowri received training in

computer animation Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating Film, moving images. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both still images and moving images, while computer animation refers to moving images. Virtu ...

during which she created three-dimensional models using

3ds Max Autodesk 3ds Max, formerly 3D Studio and 3D Studio Max, is a professional 3D computer graphics program for making 3D animations, models, games and images. It is developed and produced by Autodesk Media and Entertainment. It has modeling capab ...

software. As the sculptures created on computer did not have the "feeling of life", she tried out sand sculpting for the first time in 2011. Upon receiving appreciation for her work, she decided to start a sand sculpture museum on a one-acre leased land at the base of

, by taking a loan of 20

lakh A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). In the Indian 2, 2, 3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. F ...

. The museum was inaugurated in 2014, with 115 truckloads of construction sand being used to create 150 sculptures. The sculptures covered up to 16 different themes, largely dealing with Mysore's cultural heritage, wildlife and religion (mainly Hinduism, Islam and Christianity). Among the subjects of the sculptures displayed at the museum were

Ganesha Ganesha or Ganesh (, , ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva (Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions ...

Mysore Dasara Mysore Dasara is the state festival in the state of Karnataka in India. It is a 10-day festival, starting with nine nights called Navaratri and the last day being Vijayadashami. The festival is observed on the tenth day in the Hindu calendar m ...

Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...

Christmas tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen pinophyta, conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, associated with the celebration of Christmas. It may also consist of an artificial tree of similar appearance. The custom was deve ...

zodiac wheel The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north and south celestial latitude of the ecliptic – the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. Within this zodiac b ...

, Islamic culture, Disneyland, marine life, Laughing Buddha,

Chamundeshwari Chamunda (, ), also known as Chamundeshwari, Chamundi or Charchika, is a fearsome form of Chandi, the Hindu mother goddess, Mahadevi and is one of the seven Matrikas.Wangu p.72 She is also one of the chief Yoginis, a group of sixty-four or ei ...

, Gitopadesha and

Cauvery River The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery) is a major river flowing across Southern India. It is the third largest river in the region after Godavari and Krishna. The catchment area of the Kaveri basin is estimated to be and encompasses the states o ...

. In 2017, a three-dimensional

selfie A selfie () is a self-portrait photograph or a short video, typically taken with an electronic camera or smartphone. The camera would be usually held at arm's length or supported by a selfie stick instead of being controlled with a self-timer ...

gallery was introduced at the museum.

Maintenance

The sculptures are preserved within the museum's metal enclosing, with the overhead waterproof sheets allowing sunlight to pass through. Sculptures are brushed and remade every week in case of damages. According to Gowri, "the biggest challenge" is protecting the sculptures from insects and rodents, despite the usage of insecticides and pesticides.

References

{{coord missing, Karnataka Museums in Mysore Sand art 2014 establishments in India

History

Maintenance

See also

References