Indian food miniatures selling like hotcakes

What can be more happening for a foodie, besides favourite dishes? How about having miniatures of your favourite Indian food dishes?

Meet, Chennai-based mother and daughter duo, making clay miniatures of food items where every component, be it the rice grains ,vegetables and mustard seeds is completely handmade. Sudha Chandranarayanan, 50, chemistry graduate and Neha Chandranarayanan, 20- year-old, pursuing computer science mainly focus on Indian food which are rarely explored, apart from other cuisines.

Sudha says, "We started Cn Arts Miniatures this year. Two years ago on my daughter's 18th birthday, I gifted a dosa miniature fridge magnet and she absolutely loved it as she is a huge foodie. We took a leap forward and started our Instagram page along with our online store. Soon after, we received lots of orders including from abroad and we started shipping them worldwide. Both of us have created close to 100 + different types of food miniatures. We make our food miniatures in the form of fridge magnets and key chains so that our customers can use them on a regular basis."

Sudha has 15 years of experience in clay crafting field and had flair from a very young age. She is a self taught miniaturist and out of her daughter's true passion towards crafting and miniature art, she taught her all the basics and now even she has mastered the art.

Be it the mouth watering vada pav, pav bhaji, pani puri and chole bhatura from north or scrumptious idli, dosa and biryanis of from or the delicious global food like tacos, pastas, burger and pizza every component is crafted minutely.

It is a multi-step process. They start with the plates and cups. Then with all the other ingredients one by one to finally arrange it all together over the plate and then it is coated with a sealant to make it water resistant. It is popular because people get so excited to see their favorite food in the form of miniatures. They are used not only for personal use but also gifted as mementos during parties, weddings and such celebrations. "In a way we feel happy to be a part of their celebration through our products. We also take customised orders of food miniatures as per the requirement of the client. Working on a miniature scale is quite challenging. Since we both enjoy making miniatures we overcome it. Moreover order requests are more but since we don't want to compromise on the quality we take limited orders only per month . We prefer working in sunlight so that we can do all detailing well .We spend close to 8 to 10 hours each day," adds Sudha and Neha. According to Sudha, Neha balances both well and she is a very bright student in academics. She maintains a proper schedule balance time between studies and miniature making .

Sudha also believes that no matter what your age or educational background is, all you need is a keen interest, passion, and loads of hard work to achieve your dream.