Odisha baker makes chocolate statue of CM on BJD chief's 75th birthday

As wishes poured in from across the country on the occasion of the 75th birthday of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday, one of his admirers created a 72 kilogram chocolate sculpture as a tribute to the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president.

Patnaik had on Friday announced that he would skip birthday celebrations this year to express solidarity with the people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union ministers, chief ministers and governors of various states and eminent personalities greeted Patnaik on his birthday. "Greetings to Shri Naveen Patnaik Ji on his birthday. I pray that he is blessed with a long and healthy life in service of the people. @Naveen_Odisha," the PM said in a Twitter post.

Patnaik asked his supporters and followers to engage themselves in social service to people on this day. The social service wing of the BJD organised blood donation camps where more than 5,000 people have donated blood, a BJD leader said.

However, 32-year-old baker Rakesh Kumar Sahu of Begunia in Khurda district created a 72 kg chocolate sculpture of Patnaik, which was unveiled by the state's Sports Minister TK Behera in the Kalinga Hockey Stadium in Bhubaneswar.

The statue will be on display in the stadium for a certain period.

The Sports Department has decided to distribute the chocolate among disadvantaged children in adjoining areas after the completion of the exhibition period, Behera said. Sahu said he completed the statue in 15 days, with the help of six students of his bakery institute.

The baker, a sports enthusiast, said he came up with the idea of creating the sculpture as a tribute to Patnaik for his steadfast support for Indian Hockey over the last several years, which resulted in a spectacular performance by the men's and women's national teams in the Tokyo Olympic Games held earlier this year.

The Odisha government is the sponsor of India's national hockey teams.

"While celebrating the bronze medal win (by the men's team), I thought that I should do something special for the man who stood by the National Hockey Teams like a rock during its lowest phase – our Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik," Sahu said.

When he pitched the idea of making the chocolate sculpture to his students at his institute, they readily agreed to assist him. With help from an agency, Sahu shared his preliminary designs with Sports Department officials who also immediately showed interest in the idea.

He said he faced difficulties due to temperature variation and change in moisture levels in his workshop.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)