Vikas Khanna unveils replica of Konark Temple Wheel in New York’s Times Square; internet reacts

As the nation celebrated its 77th Independence Day, the iconic Times Square brimmed with shades of the Indian tricolour. Meanwhile, celebrity chef Vikas Khanna stepped in with another approach to commemorate India’s celebration of its independence. He unveiled a 1,800 kg 'Chakra' sculpture, a replica of the Konark Temple wheel at Times Square, to mark the special occasion. The beautiful stone art piece is prepared using sandstone. It will be displayed at Times Square till 22 August. Later, in 2024, it will be installed at the chef’s upcoming flagship restaurant in New York City.Vikas Khanna unveils stone art resembling Konark Temple wheelThe 51-year-old chef recently shared a photo of the stone art made by Odisha artist Amaresh Chandra Bindhani and his team on X, formerly Twitter. Along with the picture, he wrote, “This majestic Stone Art inspired by The Konark Temple will be displayed until Tuesday, Aug 22nd. (44th & Broadway) Please visit Times Square with your friends & family to fall in love with Odisha’s brilliant artists. Afterwards it will be installed at my upcoming flagship restaurant in New York City in 2024. Inspiration: The 24 wheels of Konark Sun Temple Material: Sand Stone Dimension: 8ft X 6ft X 1ft Weight: 1,750KG (Appx. 4,000 pounds) Category: Non-Antique (Newly made) Artist: Amaresh Chandra Bindhani and team Origin: Odisha, India.”Internet thanks Vikas Khanna for bringing pride The tweet by chef Vikas Khanna apparently filled the people of the nation with utmost pride and ignited a sense of patriotism among them. The love showering on the chef immediately transferred in the form of likes, retweets, and views. Within hours of being shared, the tweet has amassed over 2.4 lakh views along with 4,600 likes. Many of the users also joined the bandwagon to express their delight while thanking Vikas Khanna for his effort.A user wrote, “Thank you @TheVikasKhanna for taking our identity and culture across the world. You are an inspiration.” Another commented, “Great stone work for which Odisha is famous. Thanks for promoting it in the USA!” Meanwhile, a third one responded to chef’s tweet by saying, “Thank You Sir, For Representing Odisha Konark Sun Temple At NY times Square, Jay Jagannath.”Notably, the Konark Sun Temple was built in the 13th century. Throughout India’s history, the temple has endured challenges like invasions and natural calamities. Despite this, the resilience of the temple could not be affected.