FIFA U-17 World Cup: Rangoli Display At Salt Lake Stadium To Welcome Teams

Having created a buzz with their 1.5 kilometre long floor art during Durga Puja, the fine arts students of West Bengal are all set to create a gorgeous 'Rangoli' keeping Under-17 World Cup theme in mind, during the final in Kolkata on October 28. The 200-metres wide stretch leading up to the Salt Lake Stadium main gate will be adorned with a vibrant and multicolour display of geometric floor patterns. It will culminate with big circular design of 112-feet diametre near the statue of Vivekananda with a football in the centre, something that will welcome the four team and all the VVIPs including FIFA president Giani Infantino.

"The idea is to showcase our tradition and it could not have been a bigger motivation that we are given an opportunity to make the art at the biggest ever platform of a World Cup final," Anweshak Dawn, who's leading an 88-member team of Government College of Art and Craft in designing the central rangoli, told PTI.

An avid football fan from Basirhat, Dawn said: "We gave them (organisers) about a dozen designs and they liked this one most with football in the theme. With such a wide road the colours will look stunning from the galleries and we have more freedom of creativity."

They have taken up the task at 11 pm yesterday and have been working non-stop since then and promise to hand it over by 7 pm tomorrow, he said.

"Hope they (the FIFA delegation, the team members) will remember this venue, our country forever," he added.

The team of 200-odd fine arts students also come from Rabindra Bharati University, Indian College of Arts and Draftsmanship and Biswabharati University, most of whom were associated during the Durga Puja feat when they created an 'alpona' (rangoli) stretching 1.4 kilometres on Lake Road.