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| Manikanta Karthikeyan, Kollam |
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Chalk, which is used on the blackboards, may not be the ideal medium to make a lasting imprint in the firmament of art. But Manikanta Karthikeyan is unperturbed as he goes on carving miniature figures using the slender 1½-inch medium.
During the last 2 years he has completed more than 500 figures. These include Buddha and Mother Teresa, Gandhi and Thiruvalluvar, Ganapathi and row of elephants etc. According to him, the main challenge in the work is the brittleness of the chalk versus the accuracy of the figure being carved.
Since he knows the art of gold smithy, that talent and patience are useful here also. When Manikanta says that finishing touches up to the size of a pinhead can be done on chalk, we have to believe him for the proof is the row of figures in his showcase.
He has a diploma in painting and has done some paintings also. He hopes to conduct an exhibition of his chalk creations and paintings and donate the proceeds to the treatment of poor children suffering from heart ailments. The touching reason for his philanthropy is the death of his only son Siva Vinod, who died at the age of 7 from a hole in the heart.
Manikanta, who was earlier an arts teacher at the Kottagiri School, is now an officer in Uco Bank at Trichy. His wife Sarojam and daughter Anuprabha are his support in this patience-testing form of art.
Some of the figures created by Manikanta
Courtesy: Anees Nair, Malayala Manorama, April 3, 2004
Contributed by: Administrator
