“Salma is beautiful. She is everyone’s favourite at Bibi-ka-alam. Mine too,” says Samdani. For those who are wondering who this Salma is, she is the most sought after mare for baaraat processions in the city. But what has Samdani, a fabricator by profession, have to do with baaraats ? Samdani has created a ghori (mare) so beautiful it is hard to say he isn’t an artist. His artistic installation is a tribute to Salma, ghori and a warrior influenced by Rajnikanth starrer Robot .
Made entirely from scarp metal, the creation is a crowd puller at the garden of the Numaish office in Nampally. The detailing which has gone into Samdani’s Salma is worth mentioning. He says, “This is an exact replica of Salma. I would go and look at her for hours to capture the right picture in my mind. I don’t have a camera to click photos, so it took me several trips to get the detailing right.”
Visitors to the exhibition are in awe of this horse because of the way Samdani has worked on the contour of the muscles with metal to give it a real feel. So much so that even the nostrils are hollow and are interlinked like they are in reality.
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The warrior standing next to the horse is also made of scarp metal. Samdani has made use of a lot of cycle spare parts to put the mare and the warrior together.
Samdani says he has been working as a fabricator ever since he learnt to work. He studied till Std. VII and has been working since then. “I started my shop when I was 18 years-old. I live and work in the Bahadurpura area,” he says.
The idea of a sculpture came to his mind when as a regular visitor at Numaish he saw exhibits by artists made from scrap installed in several parts of the exhibition ground. “I liked the idea and I was so sure I can do something on those lines. I always wanted to do something artistic but didn’t know where to put them up for people to see,” says Samdani.
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Talking about education and childhood, Samdani wants to impart the best of education to his five children. “I have four daughters and one son. I want to educate all my daughters and make them independent,” he smiles.
Any more sculptures in mind? Samdani replies, “I have a lot of ideas but I need someone to come and see what I can do.”