Weaving magic with pencil sketches

Sitting in the midst of the hustle-bustle of a happening mall in city, this young man brings out his passion on paper, much to the appreciation of the live audience who watch him weave magic of the pencil sketch on a plain sheet of paper.

At 27, Balaji Vara Prasad realised that fine arts is his calling. “I worked as a customer sales executive in a top corporate company. But I could not continue for more than six months because there was no job satisfaction,” he says, taking a pause to attend to a shopper attracted to his pencil sketches displayed on a row of stools in the lounge of the mall.

The young customer is asked to sit for a few minutes before Mr. Prasad brings into play his nimble fingers firmly gripping a drawing pencil. The next minute he is capturing every bit of fine detail, from the moisture in the girl’s eyes to the curvy lines on the face to the streaks of her fine hair. The portrait is ready in flat 20 minutes and the girl can’t stop smiling looking at her own image.

A native of Pallewada village in Kaikaluru mandal of Krishna district, Mr. Prasad discontinued studies after 10{+t}{+h}class and opted for fine arts which he learned in the next three years. “I used to write banners and signboards which were in huge demand. Later, I realised the importance of education and continued my studies and completed MBA in 2013.”

Besides pencil art, he is proficient in clay moulding and sand art. Operating under the banner of ‘Balu Arts & Events,’ he also dabbled in wedding planning and organising birthday functions.

“Art is a wealth which seldom gets its due importance. This is one area that has been left in a state of prolonged neglect by successive governments in the State. Now, with the new capital emerging and the ruling Telugu Desam Party government spelling out grand plans designed to improve the art and culture scenario, we artists of different genres have got some hope of a bright future.” At the mall, he does portraits and caricatures of the visitors passing by. “I firmly hope that we will soon witness a scenario where people would come searching for artists to have their portraits done. And that will happen only if the government translates its promises into reality,” he says.

Besides pencil art, Balaji Vara Prasad is proficient in clay moulding and sand art