Sand Artist from Ballia aims to set the world record

Rupesh Singh, a sand artist from Kharouni Village, Ballia, aims to set a world record to make the largest sand art in the world and make India proud. He is pursuing MFA from Kashi Vidyapeeth, Varanasi, and has worked for various events for the government and local administration.

While sharing his experience on how he got admission to Kashi Vidyapeeth, Rupesh said, “My theory part at the entrance exam did not go well. However, my practical had landscape painting and it went well.I received a call on the last day of the counseling round and then I was asked, why have you come to Vidyapeeth? I replied I want to outshine the name of Vidyapeeth through my work. After completing my BFA and doing sand arts at various events, I randomly checked the website of my college and saw my name in the achievement section of Kashi Vidyapeeth's official website.
Rupesh has won several competitions. On sharing his experience of how he won his first competition, Rupesh said, “I saw participants coming with professional equipment and tools with assistants in their luxurious cars. I felt very intimidated. I used broken kite sticks, cane baskets, and residuals of wall putty. I had to make the sand art on any current issue and I made the Fodder Scam (Chara Ghotala) leading to securing the first position.
During the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections, he has worked voluntarily for several districts by making sand arts and creating awareness among the voters. He has worked in Noida, Lucknow, Prayagraj, Ghaziabad, and many more. Recently, he made a sand art at the first green polling booth of India during the assembly elections at AP Sen Girls Degree College, Lucknow.

The reason behind choosing sand art is his parents. Coming from a poor family, Rupesh started his journey as a sand artist at a very young age while observing his parents working in the field. He used to visit the fields and would create drawings on the ground with the help of sand. From observing events in villages like Ganesh Puja, Saraswati Puja, and Lakshmi Puja, Rupesh developed his interest in this art field. Rupesh is also famous for recreating various incidents of Ramayana on the sand like Shri Ram's meeting with Hanuman Ji, Ram-Kevat dialogue, Ram in the forest, and dialogue between younger brother Bharat, etc. during the Deepotsav in Ayodhya. He was awarded and honoured by the administration and local citizens for his creativity.

He makes sand art on current issues all around the world and is aiming to make the largest sand art in Kashi. He has determined that he won't cut his beard until he achieves his target.
With the support of the local administration, he has made sand arts at the Defence Expo, Prayagraj Kumbh, Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, Paryvarayan Kumbh, etc. To earn his living, he worked decorating wedding stages in villages and local areas.
-Vivek Kumar