Bhubaneswar, Jan 17 (IANS) Sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik paid tribute to communist patriarch Jyoti Basu, who died in Kolkata Sunday, by sculpting a four-foot high replica of the veteran on Orissa's Puri beach.

Pattnaik created the image of Basu's head under the national flag on the beach, around 56 km from here, using about three tonnes of sand.

'Basu was a leader of the masses. He worked for the poor throughout his life,' Pattnaik told IANS.

'As an artist, this is how I can pay my tribute to him,' he said referring to the sculpture he created along with his students.