For many, passing a thread through the eye of a needle would rank among one of the toughest things to do. One needs to conjure up a mammoth amount of concentration and patience in that moment to find success.
And, here is one man who fits entire sculptures inside that very needle-hole.
Ganesh Subramanian, a miniature artist who has perfected the art of the small, is now attracting admirers in droves at an exhibition which is on at the VJT Hall.
On display are miniature models of everything from a dancing Nataraja to ‘Ananthashayanam’, all of them made out of 22 carat gold.
The naked eye would miss all of them, even though they are presented in plain backgrounds on screens.
To view them, one needs to peer through the 12x lens provided on top of each of them.
Ganesh, a goldsmith, found his calling after years of racking his brains on doing something special using his favourite medium – gold.
“I first found success eight years ago when I made the miniature of a boat and oarsman. It was made after many months of trial and error. Even deciding on the working tool was a challenge. I use a tool made out of the usual sewing needles for all the work. A 20x lens is used while making the models,” he says.
Each of the miniatures requires at least three months to finish.
His favourite work is a number-lock which has now been sent to the Guinness book for verification. To move the numbers, one needs to use of a needle.
To give a sense of the size of the models, he has each of them on top of rice grains, needle tips or pencil tips. In some cases, he has used the needle hole itself, like in the case of a peacock on a tree.
“Eyesight is the key to this work. Each day of sculpting creates so much strain on the eyes,” he says.
Many accolades
The miniatures have garnered him accolades from far and wide.
Former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam sent him a letter of appreciation for his miniature work of cannon. Uthradom Thirunal Marthandavarma, head of the ruling family of erstwhile Travancore, presented him a ‘Swarnapathakkam’ when he gifted him a model of the ‘Ananthashayanam’ fitted on a ring.
He has completed 29 miniatures till date and is being flooded with requests for custom-made work from the public.
