Warangal: Narendra Modi in the eye of needle

Warangal: Mattewada Ajay Kumar, who made a name for himself with his micro-artistry and won accolades nationwide, this time around he made a wax sculpture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi inserted in the eye of a needle. The timing of the miniature sculpture he manufactured was picture perfect as Narendra Modi is to celebrate his 69th birthday on Tuesday.

The 45-year-old Ajay, a self-taught micro artist, made it perfect by sculpting the miniature idol that fits into the eye of the needle that has a diameter of 0.69 mm. Indeed, it's difficult that the idol is invisible to the naked eye.

The height of miniscule figurine of Modi is 0.92 mm and width is 0.23 mm. The idol was as small as that the white beard, the specs and shoes of Modi can only be seen by a microscope. It took six days and 14 hours for Ajay to carve the miniature idol. It's not new for this micro artist, who is a goldsmith by profession, to produce miniature art forms on special occasions. He came up with a wax-made idol portraying Dandi March on Gandhi Jayanti (October 2, 2018). The wax-made idols inserted in the eye of a needle depict Mahatma Gandhi walking with a stick in hand while seven other freedom fighters following him.

It found a place in the prestigious National Salt Satyagraha Memorial (NSSM) Project at Dandi in Navsari district of Gujarat that mirrors the spirit and the energy of the Dandi March which finally led to India's Independence from the British colonial rule.

Ajay had already set five Limca Book of Records for producing world's smallest gold lock, smallest functional fan etc.

Dandi march, a freedom fighter riding a horse with the India flag on a pinhead, wax-made miniature idol of Lord Vinayaka inserted in the eye of a needle and the micro masterpiece of Jesus Christ are some of his best works. This apart, he also etched the portraits of eminent personalities such as AB Vajpayee, PV Narasimha Rao, Prof Jayashankar and others on rice grains.

When asked about what was his inspiration to produce such masterpieces, Ajay Kumar told The Hans India, "it's a passion inherited from my father Venkatachary, who was a specialist in making miniature objects with gurivinda (Abrus precatorius) seed."