Goldsmith by profession and micro sculptor by passion, 45-year-old Mattewada Ajay Kumar of Warangal city has brought laurels to Telangana as his creation has found a place at the historic National Salt Satyagraha Memorial (NSSM) that was thrown open by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday at Dandi in Gujarat.Mr. Ajay Kumar micro sculpted the Dandi March scene — with Mahatma Gandhi leading a group of seven people — in the eye of a needle. That immediately caught the attention of Sethu Das of IIT Mumbai, coordinator of NSSM who summoned Mr. Ajay Kumar to Gujarat. On their request, he donated his creation to the memorial. “Prime minister Modi exclaimed ‘amazing!’ after seeing the sculpture under the microscope,” Mr. Ajay Kumar told The Hindu .
Amazing creations
The sculptor had come up with numerous micro creations and holds several records including an entry in the Limca Book of Records for his items such as the world’s smallest fan, scissors, violin — all functional and made of gold. For the last few years, he had taken up creating sculptures in the eye of a needle and on a pin head with a specially made wax.
Statue of Liberty, Elephant, Gautama Buddha, Mountaineer, Camel herder, Ganesha, Jesus, Horse rider with the national flag, Bird and are some his works done in the eye of a needle.
According to him, the Gautama Buddha statue carved by him in the eye of needle is 0.52 mm tall and 0.16 mm wide. It has a 24 carat gold chain and features such as eyes, mouth and nose are clearly distinctly visible. The bird in the eye of needle is 0.41 mm tall and 0.18 mm wide and a 0.3 mm tail with all features clearly visible including eyes and feathers.
The Statue of Liberty created in the eye of needle is 0.92 mm tall and 0.24 mm wide. The folds of the dress, crown with seven sharp needles, flame and book in the hand are all distinctly visible. The list is endless.
A ‘big’ microman
There are very few micro artists in the world who create micro statues and Mr. Ajay Kamar stands ‘tall’ among them.
“It takes hours to create a micro sculpture. I can work for two hours at a stretch before taking a break as the eyes strain so much. The work demands holding of breath at times as finer details cannot be achieved even with a small disturbance,” he explained. The works demands absolute attention and one has to forget the surroundings. “The tools I work with are so delicate that if you blow air, they will bend. You can understand the dexterity involved in it,” he added. Son of goldsmith and freedom fighter late Mattewada Venkatachary and mother Hymavathi, Mr. Ajay Kumar says it was they who encouraged him since childhood. He can be reached at ajaymicroarts@gmail.com or over cell 98490-77646.
