We have successfully created a new World record of tallest sand castle which is 48ft.8 inch for #GuinnessWorldRecord at Puri beach of india pic.twitter.com/j2EJKw4c3i
— Sudarsan Pattnaik (@sudarsansand) February 10, 2017
Beachside sculptors, eat your hearts out—Sudarsan Pattnaik just built the tallest sandcastle in the world, on a beach in India.
Pattnaik's creation, which is themed around world peace, is 48 feet tall. It features doves, scalloped edges, man-sized turrets, and a massive sand portrait of Gandhi.
The sculpture was unveiled today at Puri Beach in Orissa, India, after four days of gritty construction work, the Times of India reports. The folks from the Guinness Book of World Records were on hand to give Pattnaik the award, previously held by American Ted Siebert.
Heartily thank all well wishers, art lovers for their encouragement in my making to the #GuinnessWorldRecord TallestSandCastle at Puribeach pic.twitter.com/ALde1JpTgj
— Sudarsan Pattnaik (@sudarsansand) February 10, 2017
Pattnaik, who broke Siebert's record by 3.75 feet, is a professional sand sculptor. He has a school, the Sudarsan Sand Art Institute—30 of his students helped him with this sculpture—and over his career, he has taken home 27 championship prizes in international competitions. Three years ago, he received the Padma Shri, one of India's highest civilian honors.
This is his first Guinness World Record, though. In the photograph of him receiving it, both he and the award are dwarfed by the scale of his creation. Hey, you're not crying—that's just sand in your eye.
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