Puri: If images of Durga, being worshipped at hundreds of illuminated pandals now, depicted her trampling upon demon 'Mahisasura', a huge sand sculpture of the goddess created on the sea beach in Puri had the demon replaced by a more contemporary character.

Sand sculptor Sudarshan Patnaik had moulded the large image of the goddess looking at a helpless 'Mahisasura', which was admired by scores of tourists taking a stroll along the beach.

In fact, the sculpture is being described as the largest face of the goddess made anywhere in the world.

But the sand statue of the demon was replaced yesterday (Oct 19, 2004) by that of forest brigand Veerappan who was killed in an encounter with the Special Task Force (STF) in Tamil Nadu on Monday night (Oct 18, 2004).

"As I heard the news on Tuesday morning, I decided to replace Mahisasura with Veerappan," Patnaik, who recently bemoaned the lack of any state assistance to pursue his art said over phone.