Mega honour for Warangal’s micro-artist

​Warangal: Strange as it may sound, Warangal will have its connection to Dandi that was shot into worldwide fame in 1930 when Mahatma Gandhi chose it to be the destination for the Salt Satyagraha March. 

Warangal-based micro-artist’s wax-made artistry has a found a place in the prestigious National Salt Satyagraha Memorial (NSSM) Project that mirrors the spirit and the energy of the Dandi March which finally led to India’s Independence from the British colonial rule. The memorial will be thrown open by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Dandi in Navsari district of Gujarat on Wednesday.

The 45-year-old Mattewada Ajay Kumar, a self-taught micro artist, needs no introduction as he had already made name for himself in sculpting micro objects that are invisible to the naked eye. A goldsmith by profession, Ajay has the habit of producing miniature art forms on special occasions. He came up with a wax-made idol portraying Dandi March on Gandhi Jayanti last year. 

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 took Ajay 30 hours spread across 11 days to carve the mini-sculptures. The height of miniscule figurine of Gandhiji is 1.09 mm and width is 0.27 mm. The height of the others following Gandhi varies from 0.76 mm to 0.58 mm and width varies from 0.21 mm to 0.18 mm. It needs a microscope to see the figurines when specifications run like that.

Against this backdrop, the Dandi March sculpture caught the eye of Sethu Das, the Coordinator of the Organising Team of the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B), which was assigned the task of conceptual design, coordination and implementation of the NSSM Project. He asked Ajay to exhibit his Dandi March sculpture at the Welcome Centre Space–241 along with 11 other art forms. 

The Welcome Centre-241 signifies the distance between Sabarmati and Dandi, the starting and end points of Salt Satyagraha. Speaking to The Hans India, Mattewada Ajay said: “The Organising Team exquisitely designed the space where my Dandi March figurine is placed permanently. 

I am overwhelmed. It’s a privilege to have my creation at a place where the 15-feet high bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi and sculptures of 80 full-size Dandi Marchers were housed.” It’s a fitting tribute to my father Venkatacharyulu, he added.