Odisha Artist On Green Mission Carves Portraits of Eminent Personalities On Trees

Baripada: He is an artist on a mission to protect environment. He has been carving out the faces of eminent personalities on live trees to make people think twice before felling those. Meet Samarendra Behera of Mayurbhanj district.

“I have made portraits of great personalities on different mediums. Concerned over rapid depletion of green cover around the world, I wanted to contribute my talent to promote awareness on protection of environment. So I started making carvings on trees,” said the young artist from Banbati block of Mayurbhanj.

He has already carved the portraits of former President APJ Abdul Kalam, Utkalmani Gopabandhu Das and others on different types of tress.

“People usually don’t minding knifing their names on trees. If there is an attractive element such as the face of freedom fighters or eminent personalities, they would think twice before cutting the trees.” Behera says.

He believes that his initiative will be useful in raising awareness about the issue of deforestation and make the people mindful of their actions towards nature.

“Trees are essential to nature. Without them, there would be no green cover. The message I want to convey to society is that instead of carving our names on trees, if we draw portraits of the people who have contributed immensely to the society, it will look much more beautiful.” said Behera.